My Second Chance
by Jaded Angel
Summary: Post-Season Finale. There was something different about Eric, Jackie was sure, but two years in Africa could do that to a boy. What with all of life's little let downs, they'll either save each other or kill each other.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **I don't own a thing. Seriously, I really don't, its actually really sad.

**Authors Note: **First and Foremost, I am so, so, so sorry I fell off the face of the planet. I, I was really thrown for a loop the past four/five months, what with school, work, and life. I learned many a valuable lesson, such as, guys suck, like, not all of you, of course, only guys I like really. And I hate school, no, no I _loathe_ school. There should be an escape button for that shit. But, seriously, I am so, so sorry.

I cant promise a speedy update for Thick as Thieves, because, honestly, I have tried writing so many different chapters for that story and, its ridiculous how some of them turned out. I am having major writers block, mainly because I thought it be real easy once I got Jackie and Hyde together, but, actually, I got really messed up with it. But I will continue trying to work on it and hopefully get an update soon.

This story, is actually, the first story that I have actually gotten past page one. Everything I have written since January has consisted of two or three paragraphs and has most likely gotten deleted because I thought it was crap. Oh, Im babbling. Im sorry, again.

Ok, for real, this is set a year after the season finale, with the one change that Eric didnt come back. In this story Eric comes back a year later to find his friends have moved on with their lives. The main focus will be Eric and Jackie (I so love them) There will most likely be J/E romantic wise, possibly J/H. There will be NO J/K; J/F; E/D (Maybe hints of E/D, but most likely not). The story takes place in 1981 and its a bit weird. There will be bits and pieces through out the story that would give the reader (you wonderful people) ideas of what happened circa 1980.

Please have an open mind and I love reviews, but your reading happiness is most important to me. As usual I love feedback and opinions and suggestions (that I always try to incorporate into the story) I hope you enjoy, Happy Readings!!

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December 31st, 1980 11:54

The sound of the slider clicking in place had to have been the sweetest sound of the night. She leaned against the cool glass, breathing in the frigid air. It felt like daggers across her chest, but she was relieved as the flush of her cheeks faded into the wintry night. There was the slightest dusting of snow on the driveway, powdering the old Vista Cruiser, as well as a lone basketball. The ground was untouched, untainted by foot prints.

It was all rather beautiful, honestly.

She took another deep breath before gently pushing herself from the glass. The air was unforgiving as it wrapped around her, coaxing her in an uncomforting sort of way.

The year had gone by with almost no notice from her. It was simply another year.

Another year of screw ups, misunderstandings, and broken hearts. Another year drunk away by champagne and noise blowers on December thirty-first. Another year for the history books.

Her fist collided with the hood of the old Vista Cruiser. An angry noise rumbled through her throat as she retracted her fist and pressed her hands to her face.

Footsteps sounded from the driveway, forcing her to bring her face away from her hands. She stared, unafraid, down towards the dark street.

Where I come from, hitting a car like that will land you a swift kick in the ass. Her mouth dropped open as the voice ran across her brain.

He stood in front of her, arms crossed, a bag slung on his shoulder. He was wearing a black coat, a hint of a flannel shirt peeking from his chest. His face was rounder, fuller, hidden slightly from the specks of a five o'clock shadow. He looked different, slightly, but also very much the same.

Not that it mattered. She would know him anywhere. Even if she hadnt seen him in almost two years.

A loud eruption sounded from the house, reaching her ears, making her turned to stare into the empty kitchen. Goodbye to 1980 and hello to 1981. She shifted so she was staring back at the man she had known for the better part of her life. He too was looking towards the house, his face mixed with guilt and happiness.

"Happy New Year Jackie". His voice stung her this time, forcing her to feel things she had long ago buried. Such as the strange and weird journey it had been in his basement since she was six.

"Happy New Year Eric."

---

He walked through the basement doors, dropping his duffel onto the hard cemented ground. He couldn't blame his raven haired friend for leaving. The night had probably been too much before his arrival.

As he sat on the couch he could feel the memories start to tug at his heart strings. He shut his eyes and leaned into the aged fabric, breathing in the faded scent of hash and the girls perfume. He breathed in what he could, his eyes heavy from lack of sleep.

It would be suicide trying to make it up to his old bedroom, walking through the crowd of old neighbors and older friends. He wasn't ready to face his mother or father. He was not prepared to face the so-called love of his life whom he had left two years ago. The girl he had sworn to love forever.

A yawn escaped his lips and he gently pressed his hand into the couch. Sure, it wasn't his bed, but it would do for the night.

Standing up, he began taking off his jacket and boots. He stretched up, walking towards the back of the basement, pushing Hydes door open. It was common knowledge the rocker-stoner had a couple of extra pillows and a blanket in the far corner.

The problem, however, was the fact that his friends room look unlived in. The cot was turned on its side, completely nude of sheets and blankets. There were a few extra boxes, boldly marked with holiday names. And all of the little personal effects that were purely Hyde, were gone.

Eric stood, his arms crossing over his shirt. In a way, he guessed, it was selfish of him to think that his friend would still be living in his parents home. Hyde had a father now and was working for himself. He had probably bought a house or moved into an apartment. He had probably gotten himself a girlfriend and moved in with her.

Two years could change a persons life.

The brown haired boy gave the small room a withered look, before walking in and searching for an extra blanket and pillow. It took a few minutes too long in his opinion, but he was able to locate his old sleeping bag and a small throw pillow.

He walked back into the main part of the basement and flopped down on the couch, twisting for several minutes. He had the rest of his life to figure shit out, especially since he was home now. Sleep was the only thing he could even pretend to care about.


	2. Chapter 2

**Just to be on the safe side, the characters might seem a bit OOC, but, it'll all make sense as the story goes on. I'm still working out the kinks! Happy Readings!

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Waking up on the basement couch was quite possibly the _worst_ feelings he had ever experienced. It wasn't the simple fact that his back, neck, and several muscles he didn't know existed were in extreme pain; it was the fact that he had been on a plan for almost an entire day, the day before, and the sleep on the plane was simply better.

A headache was creeping across his brain and he winced as he sat up too quickly. Slowly, he brought his arm to his face, allowing his groggy eyes to adjust to the face of his watch. It was well into the morning and he was sure that it would be all too difficult to sneak quietly to take a shower.

"Kitty, it's fine, I will get the dish soap." It would be _very_ difficult to sneak anywhere at this point.

Eric watched his father walk down the stairs in his pressed pants and button down shirt. He looked the same as he had prior to Eric's departure. There were no new wrinkles or laugh lines. Not that Red Forman would have had too many laugh lines.

He sucked in a breath as his father stopped on the third to last step and stared at him.

"Eric?"

"Hey, Dad." Eric waved slightly, forcing a smirk onto his face. "How was the party?"

Red stood, a blank expression on his face. Several seconds past between them, before Red finally coughed and folded his arms. He began to nod his head, staring at his son.

"It was good. Lots of alcohol and neighbors. The usual." Red coughed again, glancing up towards the kitchen door. "I didn't know you were coming in. I would have picked you up from the airport."

Eric shrugged, standing up and trying to discreetly stretch. He walked the short length to the washer and pulled down the extra bit of dish soap from the shelf.

"I didn't want to be a bother. Besides, I got all my funds and such, so paying for the taxi was no chip off my shoulder." He held out the soap for Red who had yet to stop staring at him. "Dad, come on, it's only been a year and half, or so. You're looking at me like I'm some kind of ghost."

"Sorry." Red grunted, grabbing the soap and looking back towards the stairs. "I'm just surprised to see you. Even though it shouldn't shock me too much. I finally got rid of Steven and look at this, you're going to be moving right back in. You kids never do just move out, do you?"

Eric couldn't help but smirk. "I guess we can't get enough of this loving environment."

Red rolled his eyes. "Well, you better come see your mother. I can only guess the amount of squealing and jumping there will be."

Eric continued to smirk. "Oh, there will definitely be lots of squealing and jumping."

Red scowled. "Joy."

---

Jackie sighed, throwing yet another can of soup into her wagon. She liked soup because it took less then ten minutes to make. Hell, you threw it into a pot and you could run to the bathroom, freshen up, change clothes, come back and it was done. And with the way she lived, she needed lots of quick little tricks.

As she rounded the corner to the next aisle, her brain drifted into thoughts of the Forman party and the homecoming of Eric.

It was weird seeing him. Mostly because it had been so long. In another two months or so, it would have been two years. Two years since she had run away to Chicago and Eric had escaped to Africa. Two years since Hyde had put the final nail in their coffin and Kelso had once again disappointed her. Two years since the rest of her life had begun and crashed ever so gently in front of her.

She grabbed a random can and threw it into the abyss of her cart. It rattled loudly, echoing over the aisle. Jackie took no notice.

Looking down, she skimmed her grocery list, deciphering if she had finally gotten everything (and then some) from her list. Her eyes scanned the list and then the cart. It was a fairly light shopping trip. With Christmas and New years having passed her and what-not, the option of cooking had become rather silly. Mrs. Forman had tons and tons of food at her house, and since Jackie spent most of her free time at the Forman house anyway, she found herself with more then enough food to keep her refrigerator full as well as her stomach.

Rolling her neck she made her way up to the register, standing in the shortest line. She looked at the various faces around the grocery store, all of them were unfamiliar to her.

Once upon a time ago, she knew everyone's face in Point Place; the perks of being a Burkhart. She new their name, where they lived, and what her mother and father thought of them. Being a perceptive child had always helped her wave through the riff-raff and other wise unacceptable people to be associated with.

But now it didn't matter. She could be friends with whoever she wanted and do whatever she did and it would not matter come Monday morning. There was no need to be looking for the constant approval of anyone; her father, her mother, Kelso, Steven. She was an arch angel at the studio, able to turn the most withered show into a hit sitcom or talk show.

The line moved forward and she began neatly placing her items on the conveyer belt.

It didn't matter if she went home to an empty apartment or if she cried herself to sleep.

---

Eric sat on the couch, watching a Packer game with Red. The morning had been full of squealing and crying and food; lots and lots of food. He had debated about going over to his friends' homes and jobs, greeting them all individually. Kitty immediately put a stop to this, pulling out her rolodex and grabbing the phone from the kitchen wall. Everyone was going to come over for dinner, unaware that Eric would be there.

Well, everyone but Jackie. Even though Eric was unsure if she had said anything to Kitty about knowing he was here or not. Kitty gave no indication the brunette had let the secret out.

"Dammit! Throw the ball! _Throw the ball_! Pansy!" Red threw his arms in the air, rolling his eyes. He shifted and watched the replay. Once again he jumped in his seat, point his arm to the television. "Right there! _Right there_! Should have thrown the damn ball!"

Eric looked at his father, unsure of what reaction he should give. After a moment or two, when Red didn't seem fazed by the lack of response, Eric simply nodded to himself and took a long sip from his beer.

"I have brownies!" Kitty bounced through the kitchen door, placing the plate on the coffee table. She clasped her hands together and stared at Eric. "Oh, look at you! My baby!" She bent down and gave him a kiss on the top of his head.

"Mom, I just had lunch." Even though the words rang true, Eric couldn't help his tongue running over his lips or the smirk that began to take over his face. "If I eat all of these sweets, I'll never get to sleep."

Kitty waved him off and then squealed. Red groaned and shook his head. "Leave him alone Kitty. He hasn't twitched once. Maybe he went and grew up, don't spoil it."

"I will spoil my baby anyway that I feel fit Red." Kitty glared hotly at her husband for a second before turning back to Eric and grasping his face in her hands. "Look at my baby boy!"

"Mom, mom, come on." Eric tried to gently pull his face from her hands, but it seemed futile. Red rolled his eyes.

"I have to start making dinner, I have so much to cook!" Kitty let go of her son and swiveled around towards the kitchen.

"Why? How many of us are their actually going to be?"

"Well," Kitty looked up in thought, her finger going to her chin. "There's Michael, Brooke, and Betsy. And Steven, Fez, and Jackie. And Donna and Ryan."

"Who's Ryan?" Eric watched as his mother's face distorted into a look of alarm. A sudden realization passed over him that Ryan must be Donna's boyfriend. "Oh. I get it."

"I forgot about him, he's around so much I guess I'm just use to him now. I am so sorry baby." Kitty was once again at her son's side, hugging his head. "How could I be so inconsiderate?"

"Mom, _mom_." Eric managed to pull himself away. "It's fine. I broke up with Donna a year and a half ago. I'm glad she moved on."

"Well," Kitty laughed her infamous laugh, but Eric could see the doubt in her eyes.

"Do you want any help with dinner, mom?" He inwardly sighed, knowing there was not much he could do to convince her that her baby boy was ok with the situation.

"No, no, I'll be ok. You have fun watching the game." Kitty kissed him on the top of the head and disappeared into the kitchen. The door swung shut and then swung back open. "I'm so happy you're home Eric."

He smiled and nodded his head. "Me too."

Red looked over to the kitchen, then to his son, and finally back to the television. "She took it real hard when you wrote and said you were going to stay longer."

Eric looked at his father. "I didn't think she would take it lightly." He stared at the beer in his hand and brought it to his lips.

"All of them took it real hard." Green eyes moved to his father, taking him in. He wasn;t sure if this was his father's twisted way of saying he missed him, or if it was just Red being Red.

"I had to do, what I had to do. Those kids needed me and I needed them. I learned a lot, and I saw a lot. I'm glad I stayed." He brought the beer to his lips once again.

"Seems like you grew up a lot down there." Red leaned back into the couch, placing his arms behind his head.

"I think I did." Eric agreed.

"So, tell me about it." He looked over at his father who had his eyes focused on the game. Eric smiled and nodded his head.

"Well, when I landed they told me I was going to be at village just east of Egypt."

"Did you seem the pyramids?"

"Actually, I did, and I also got to beat up this guy who tried to mug me." Eric smiled proudly as Red gave him a sideways look.

"Did you win?"

"I did, and I got him arrested."

"Wow, I should have sent you to Africa a long time ago." Red nodded his head. "Well, keep going, you've barely started."

---

She arrived at the Forman house at around three. Kitty had stated seven, but she figured she could always help. Kitty never minded. The slider was unlocked and she slipped into the warm kitchen, allowing a chill to rush across her spine. She had always hated moving from temperature to temperature.

"Hey, you're here early." Ocean eyes collided with green eyes.

"Oh, hey, I wasn't expecting you to be here." She forced a small smile and looked the tall boy up and down.

He seemed taller and slightly more muscular, but it could have been the distance of time since they had seen each other or the lack of recent memories she had of him. He did look a little different, but not in the physical sense; it was a maturity thing, a getting older type of thing.

"Where would I be?" He smirked, his eyes full of laughter. "I just got home."

His smile promoted her smile as she began to undo all the buttons on her petty coat. "I don't know. I figured the record store, possibly. Hyde and Fez are there. I didn't know if maybe you went down to Kenosha to see Donna." She shrugged, her coat discarded on a chair.

"I didn't know Donna moved to Kenosha."

"She's going to school there, and she works at the newspaper part time." Jackie nodded her head, walking over to the counter, watching as he peel away the skin on the carrots. "Your mom didn't tell you?"

"My mom hasn't really been keeping me up with any of your lives, actually. Most of her letters were about random things. I guess she figured she didn't want to hurt me." Eric shrugged, dropping the carrot into a bowl and then picking up another one. "She's always trying to protect my feelings."

"So, you don't really know much of anything, huh?" Eric looked at her, a smirk beginning to form across his lips.

"Well, I do know that Kelso and Brooke are living in Chicago. And that Hyde got the record store, and that you and Fez live together."

"You're almost right. Fez and I do not live together." Jackie turned and walked to the stove, she grabbed the tea kettle and walked over to the sink. "I moved out about four months ago. I have an apartment just outside of point place."

"Impressive." Jackie nodded her head, placing the filled kettle on to the stove.

"I wanted to be closer to my job."

"Let me guess, you're a model?" She looked at him, twisting so that she was leaning against the counter.

"I'm a producer at Kenosha's television station."

"You're a producer?" Eric voice became instantly flat.

"Yes, I'm a producer. I started working as an assistant, just to make some money and hopefully get in-front of the camera. Seems with a bossy personality and looks that could kill, it was easier control the behind the camera stuff." She shrugged, her arms shifting to cross in front of her.

"I didn't mean it to come off nasty. I'm just surprised. You're really young to be a producer."

"Well, I get shows the ratings the producers want." The kettle whistled loudly, causing Jackie to jump, seeing as she was next to it.

Eric shifted and opened a cupboard, grabbing a mug. He held it out for Jackie. "When did you start drinking tea?"

Gingerly, Jackie took the cup, making eye contact with him for a split second. She turned and grabbed a tea bag from the little bowl next to the stove and quickly made herself a cup.

"A while ago." February 14th, 1980 to be exact; the day Fez broke up with her because he didn't feel like they were going anywhere. The day she showed up to the basement only to catch Steven with yet another bimbo. The day she had to come to terms with being alone.

Eric didn't say anything, he simply gave a nod, staring down at the carrot he had been peeling.

"How was Africa?"

"It was good. Beautiful country."

"That's very diplomatic of you." Jackie rolled her eyes, walking over to the kitchen table. "What were the kids like? What was it like teaching?"

"What do you care?" His voice held a bit of sing-song and a new smirk began to dance across his lips. It was hard to take him to heart.

"I haven't seen you in two years. I'm curious as to what would consume you to the point of not returning home."

"Nothing consumed me. I just, I had shit to finish before I came home."

"What about all the unfinished business here?" Forcing himself to look up, he saw the questioning pierce in her eyes.

"Jackie, I did what I had to do, and I don't regret it one bit."

Jackie sucked in her lips and shifted to stare down at the cup in front of her. It had become a very weird turn of events.

---

"Dude!" Eric laughed as Kelso brought him into a grand hug. "Look at you!"

"Look at _you_!" Eric took a step back. Kelso had not changed in the slightest. His smile was still pretty and his hair was perfectly quaffed. "A police officer and a father."

"And soon to be husband!" Kelso laughed, turning to look over at Brooke, Betsy, and Jackie. "I'm so happy you're home. At least you'll be able to attend the wedding!"

"I would have always attended the wedding Kelso. How could I miss that?"

"I don't know, man. All I'm saying." Kelso laughed and looked at his watch. "It's almost nine, I wonder where Hyde and Donna are?"

Eric looked towards the front door and then back to Kelso. Red was sitting in his chair, looking at the television, taking sneak peeks at Jackie, Brooke, and Betsy on the couch. Kitty was in the kitchen, putting the finishing touches on dinner. And Fez was sitting on the steps with some girl named April. Hyde and Donna were still missing.

"Hey, Jacks! When are your friends getting here?" Eric moved his head from the door to the girl on the couch. She had her head down, looking at her watch.

"Well, Donna and Ryan should have been by now. Unless they got suckered into working. And you know I don't have Hyde's E.T.A." Jackie gave Kelso a look and then went back to fussing over Betsy who began to giggle.

"E.T.A?" Eric asked. Kelso rolled his eyes.

"Jackie's always using police jargon. With all the time she spends at my house on the weekends, I'm surprised she hasn't tried to join the force herself."

"She spends a lot of time at your place? In Chicago?" Eric looked over to Jackie and then quickly back to Kelso who had begun moving towards the bar.

"Well, Thursdays she gets off work pretty early, so maybe every other week or so she comes down and spends time with Brooke and Betsy. Most of the times she leaves a bit after I get home because I get home late. And at least two weekends a month she's at the house. Which is pretty awesome because it gives me and Brooke an excuse to go out for dinner or a movie." Kelso searched the other cabinet, searching for the perfect liquor. He came up with some rum, gesturing towards Eric.

"No thanks." Eric looked back towards the front door. "How's Hyde and Donna?"

"Oh, they're cool. Donna and Ryan are real cool to hang out with." Kelso looked up apologetically. "I mean, well, he's no _you_, man. But he's funny."

"Don't worry about it Kelso. I don't care. I'm the one that broke up with Donna. I want her to move on with her life. I'm happy to see all of you moving on with your lives."

"That's really mature of you Eric." Kelso nodded his head.

"We all have to grow up every now and then." Eric smiled and looked towards the front door again.

"Hyde's been good. He's really doing well with the store and stuff."

"I feel like I missed out on a whole lifetime." Eric placed his hand on the back of his neck. "I'm really happy that Hyde is getting his act together though."

Kelso nodded, about to open his mouth and the door opened wide.

"Mrs. Forman I am so sorry we're late!" Hyde shook his head, looking directly at the aging woman. "This one over here was taking forever to come downstairs so we could leave."

Donna rolled her eyes. "Ryan had to work late and he had the car. So, lucky me, had to wait on Mr. Hyde." She looked to her left and froze as her eyes fell over Eric and Kelso.

Eric smiled. He watched as Donna lifted her hand and grabbed Hyde's arm, who was still trying to explain why it took them so long.

"Donna, what? Jesus Ch--" Shielded blue eyes crashed with green eyes. "Forman?"

"Oh my god, Eric, wow."

"I got in last night, mom concocted this whole thing to surprise everyone." He shrugged, lifting his eyes to the ceiling. "Surprise."


	3. Chapter 3

So, I don't own anything, for the rest of the story, I don't own anything. I work at a daycare for Heaven's sake, I have no money.

Anyway, so, yes, chapter three, so proud of myself. Honestly, I have no answers for this but I built a little bit on Eric and Donna, Jackie and Hyde, and Jackie and Eric. I think next chapter will focus on more Eric issues and then Jackie issues, OR I might just switch it around. We'll see what gets written. There may very well be some OOC tendencies, but, just forgive me. :) Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed, it means the world to me. Happy Readings!

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Jackie stood at the sink, washing various dishes from dinner and dessert. She had insisted as Kitty cleared the table, cleaning the counters, and washing the pots. It was the very least she could do.

Her ocean eyes looked up, staring at Eric and Donna sitting on the patio, in the chilly night air. She had been doing her very best not to eavesdrop on their body language, but had found the scene too entertaining. Such as the way Donna would lean the slightest towards Eric, before realizing and pulling farther away then before. Or the way the blonde haired woman would look down at the ground as she talked, crossing and uncrossing her ankles.

The most unentertaining thing about watching the pair was the simple fact that Eric, twitchy, nervous, gesturing Eric, had sat like a stone. He had shifted his weight in his chair, and he had moved his head here and there, but there was no wild gestures as he talked or extravagant facial expressions.

It was freakin' weird.

"Look at you, all domesticated. What are you trying to do, prepare for marriage? Wouldn't you hire someone to do those?"

Jackie looked over her shoulder, staring at Hyde with a blank expression. It had been two years since their break up and the burns and insults still flew like birds heading South.

"What if I was to marry a poor man, Hyde? I wouldn't depend on him to be doing the dishes." She turned back to the almost empty sink. "I was taught that a poor man gives nothing but burgers wrapped in foil."

"At least you'll be saving on plates." She would admit that their tones had become less taunting towards each other. Their burns were stated in flat, lifeless decibels, where eye contact was never necessary.

Hyde walked over, taking a plate in his hands and quietly began to dry it with a towel from the counter. Jackie paused, watching him, memories from the summer Donna and Kelso had run away slammed into the back of her mind. Memories of her walking to the Forman kitchen, Hyde at the sink, moaning about doing his chores as well as Eric's chores because of Eric's depression. Memories of standing next to him and silently drying the dishes as he groaned, just so she could smell his cologne and listen to the sound of his voice. Memories that had been long dead. Memories not worth the mourning.

"They're laughing." Jackie looked up from the sink, staring at the couple that stood just past the glass door. Donna was still standing, her face lit up by her smile. Eric sat on the bench, shaking his head, his hand outstretched, his lips curved upwards.

"It must be nice." She didn't even realize she had said anything until Hyde had shifted to look at her.

"What must be nice?"

Looking down at the sink, she cleared the water out and finished up the last dish, letting her hands slip under the faucet. She shut everything off, looking back outside. For the briefest of seconds, as she turned towards the kitchen door to the living room, blue eyes crashed with stormy oceans.

"Being able to laugh with each other after all the bullshit." And with that, Jackie departed into the living room, seeking the solace of Red or Kitty.

---

"That was some fun times." Donna stated, nodding her head. "Were we all really that stupid?"

"I'm pretty sure we were." Eric coughed, his smile still present on his face. He looked into the house, watching as Jackie and Hyde looked at each other before Jackie walked into the living room. He shook his head, looking back to the girl standing on the patio.

Her blonde hair, just as brilliant and bright as it had been the morning he left, was pulled back into a pony tail. She was wearing jeans and a red shirt, hidden underneath the jacket she was bundled in. She looked and acted happy; from the fresh smile playing across her lips, to the starry look in her green eyes. Eric could not deny that his ex was moving on fairly well.

"So, you're doing ok?" Donna looked at him, moving her head from side to side.

"I'm actually doing really good." She smirked and leaned her back against the white patio column. "I didn't think I would have been, but I am."

"That's good." He nodded, looking out into the driveway. He wasn't sure what to really talk about at this point.

They had gotten past the awkward greetings fairly quickly, something Eric would not have predicted. He had spent the better part of his free time in Africa trying to figure out the perfect thing to say to Donna when he finally saw her. And he had various perfect things to say. He knew what he would say if he saw her and instantly fell back into love with her. He knew what he would say if he saw her and didn't want to see her again, ever. And he knew what he would say if he saw her and figured out that they were so much better apart then they were ever together.

However, nothing could prepare him for when he actually got to see her. He thought there would be more crying, on her part. At least more violence, something, anything. The whole, stand and stare at each other until Jackie announced dessert, was something he hadn't factored in.

Thinking about it, there were lots of things he hadn't factored in; such as the agreement to step outside and talk. Or the fact that Donna was happy they had broken up instead of trying to work out the long distant thing. He certainly wasn't expecting to see Donna, his Donna, so happy with another man.

And to be truthful, seeing her with someone else, happy with someone else, didn't even bother him, not even in the slightest. And he thought it would have.

"So, this Ryan guy, how's that going?" Eric smirked, already having anticipated the uncomfortable vibe Donna would be sending off. He was not disappointed as the blonde quickly averted her eyes and a blush crept across her face.

"You really want to know? Or are you just trying to be a jackass?" Eric laughed.

"I really want to know." Donna gave him a look. "And I'm trying to be a jackass, but not a very big one."

Silence filled the small space. After several seconds, Donna smiled and nodded her head. "He's great. He's attentive and smart and funny. I love him." She looked at his face, trying to read him. He knew, though, that there would be nothing there. He didn't feel anything towards her confession.

"How long have you two been going out?"

"About nine months. Jackie was actually the one that convinced me to go out with him."

Eric cocked an eyebrow, his eyes moved swiftly to look into the kitchen, only to see it was empty. "She just couldn't wait to get you over me, could she?" He felt, almost, betrayed. Not that it should shock him, Jackie was better friends with Donna and would want her friend to move on with her life. She did not have any considerations for him.

"No, it wasn't that." Donna sighed, moving to sit next to Eric. She shifted so that her knees gently pressed against knees. "I got really sad after I found out you were staying another year. I couldn't believe it, and I was angry and annoyed and sad. So, I started going out more, meeting new guys, doing more things, you know." She sighed again, shaking her head. "I was making stupid choices. Ryan was a total whatever type of person, but he was persistent. He was a genuinely good guy, like you." Their eyes met and Eric understood the severity of their relationship, especially the part that allowed them to talk like this. "He was so much like you and Jackie, she kept pestering and pestering until I finally gave him a chance. Eventually, he made me not so sad."

Eric looked at Donna and then at his hands. In Africa, there were no repercussions to his choices and his decisions; possibly because they only person they truly affected was himself. In Point Place, thousands and thousands of miles away, the repercussions were endless. He didn't realize the feelings he had created by remaining so far away from home.

"Why didn't you come home, Eric?" Her voice dropped to almost a whisper. Had it been another time, another life, another moment, he could have told her that it was because he loved her too much and still felt he wasn't good enough for her. But that wasn't the truth, maybe in the beginning it had been, but not anymore.

"I had something to do, I couldn't just pack up my bags and go."

"Was it worth it?"

He turned and looked at her. "Was it worth what?"

"Losing everything you had."

---

Jackie rolled her eyes as yet another assistant rushed passed her, talking vividly into their head piece. A headache was forming at the very base of her head, just above her neck, and she had lost count of how many people she had yelled at to bring her aspirin.

"Ms. Burkhart?" Standing to the side of her was Jasmine. She was the set designer's lackey, sent to do his bidding and fight his fights. The problem was that she didn't know how to argue back.

"What is it Jasmine?" Jackie looked back towards the set of 'Waking Up with Mandy!', the morning talk show she was currently producing. "If this is about the Valentine's Day designs, you tell Thomas that I do not want to see anything until the very end of January."

"No, Mr. Parker wanted to know if it was alright to forgo the yellow and orange theme for next week's episodes and do lilac and silver."

"No, it is not alright, because next week we have Boomer the Clown, George Mitchell, and Susan Michaels coming on to the show. Susan's 'lucky' color is yellow, and Boomer the Clown will be throwing lemon cakes at George Mitchell. Yellow and orange is next weeks theme."

"Um," Jasmine began to chew on her lower lip.

"And another thing, you can tell Thomas that I know he has some stray idea of doing a sailor theme in the middle of winter. And he can shove those ideas in a drawer until May."

"Yes Ms. Burkhart." The assistant lowered her head and disappeared before anything else could be said about Thomas Parker.

"Wow, that was a little harsh." Spinning around, slightly taken back, slightly annoyed, Jackie stared at one Eric Forman and dear old Fez. "That girl looked like she was going to the bathroom to cry herself into nothingness."

Ocean eyes shifted, for a split second, in the direction that Jasmine had rushed off too.

"She's fine. She's gotten much worse verbal assaults."

"I guess I get to see that cut-throat attitude Fez was telling me about firsthand."

"I'm very happy I can entertain you. What are you two doing here?" Discreetly, she took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. It was only in the studio that her nerves riled up enough where being the old Jackie, the sixteen year old that yelled at everybody, could come out and play dictator. Outside of the studio the old Jackie had been broken enough times that the only thing she could really do was keep a watchful eye from the other side of her wall.

"Well, Fez and I spent the whole morning at the record store and then went to lunch, and now have finally made it to see your big producing job." Eric looked over to the set that laid fifty feet in front of him. "Is this your show?"

"The old producer went on maternity leave. The guy who was filling in was a complete pompous, the ratings dropped almost ten percent after three months. They asked me to take over a month ago."

"Jackie got the ratings up two percent." Fez smiled proudly, forcing Jackie to blush.

"I didn't know the life of a show was so fragile." Eric commented, he stared at the girl who was talking exuberantly to the camera. "I thought you weren't allowed to talk on set."

Jackie looked at him and then back to Mandy. "See that white line, that's the twenty foot mark. Once you pass that line you can't talk, not even a whisper."

"You don't cross that line too much, huh?"

"Only if I absolutely have too. Honestly, I really just come down here for the hell of it. As long as I'm not yelling at anyone and I don't say too much to the director, they can't really kick me out."

"I love being here, watching all the magic that happens before it comes on my T.V.." Fez sighed dreamily. "It's like Disney World."

"We have to take you to Disney World Fez." Eric patted him on the shoulder.

"Jackie, is my beloved here?" She looked at Fez and then back to the set. She waved her hand in the direction of the dressing rooms.

"Seriously Fez, if you get caught in any of the dressing rooms for any reason, I will not be bailing you out of that mess." Completely ignoring her, the foreign boy basically skipped in the direction of the dressing rooms.

Before Jackie could say anything, yet another assistant rushed towards her, holding a clipboard with several papers.

"That's really cool that you set him up with one of the girls that worked here." Eric, not having been paying attention, looked towards Jackie when she didn't immediately respond.

She was wearing black pants and boots with a blue long-sleeve shirt. Her hair was down in curls, curtaining the opposite side of her face. Her head was bent as she looked over the papers, forming a perfect silhouette.

"I'm sorry, what?" She looked over had him, causing the curtain of hair on the opposite side of her face to cover the clipboard.

"I think it's cool you helped Fez find someone." Jackie looked back down the clipboard, a smile forming across her lips.

"It's hard to believe but I can be nice sometimes." The assistant, unseen by Jackie, gave her a doubtful look, causing Eric to smirk.

"Of course you can Jackie."

She handed the clipboard back to the assistant and sighed, crossing her arms over her chest. Ocean eyes looked over to Eric.

"You look the same. But it's not the same." His eyebrows raised high into his forehead. "I keep trying to figure it out, because something is different, and it's not just the extra year in Africa. There is something else."

Truth be told, Eric had never pin-pointed Jackie as someone who was perceptive. She was Jackie for Christ's sake. If he wanted information on a sale at the mall, he would have gone to her. He needed to know what colors were appropriate to wear in winter, he would definitely be on the phone to her. However, he would have never guessed that Jackie Burkhart saw past her own narcissistic sunglasses.

"I think there's something different with all of us."

"Once again, that's very diplomatic." She rolled her eyes, focusing on the wrapping up of her show. "What else do you have planned for the day?"

"I guess whatever Fez wants to do."

"Which would be April." Jackie smirked, looking at Eric. "Every time he visit's the radio station, he and my favorite make-up designer rush off. That's why I had to get a car. I couldn't depend on him anymore."

"So, basically," Eric held his hand out flatly. "You're telling me that Fez has disappeared for the rest of the day."

Jackie simply nodded her head.

"Well, that's great." Eric smirked. "He's the one that drove." Eric could honestly say he was not expecting the amount of laughter that flew from Jackie's lips.

---

Eric walked into the apartment behind Jackie. He stopped at the doorway, looking at her home silently. He had to admit he was impressed. The floors were wooden, with beige walls and delicate paintings hanging. The furniture was ivory colored with bright color throw pillows and a dark wood coffee table. There was a window and a small door way leading into the kitchen, and off to the side another door way leading into a hall.

"Nice place." He walked further in, giving the house another once over.

"Thanks, one of the other producers at the studio use to live in this complex." Her voice echoed out from the hallway on the side.

All he had done was mention that he was a little hungry as they walked from the studio to her car. She had shrugged and offered to go to dinner with him, as long as he didn't mind going back to her place so she could change.

He had thought long and hard about going out to dinner with her, simply for that fact that the two of them had never been very close. Hell, they were always bickering and their other halves usually went out of their way to keep them apart.

The fact that his parents had plans with neighbors and he didn't feel like waiting till Hyde got off of work to eat, pushed his decision to grin and bear a meal with the raven haired girl.

He walked over to a shelf that was near the hallway. He noticed that Jackie had kept the door open to her room. There were pictures sitting on the shelf, staring at him. Donna, Kelso, and Fez were in all of them except two. One was of Hyde and Jackie, Hyde smirking and Jackie laughing. And finally one of himself and Jackie. The picture was taken years ago, because the youth in their faces were apparent. They could not have been older then thirteen or fourteen.

Jackie walked out of her room, stopping as she noticed Eric staring at the pictures.

"I wanted to make it feel more homely. I just added that shelf a few weeks ago." Eric turned, looking as Jackie stood in the shadows of the hall and her bedroom.

"Where did you get this picture from? It's from a million years ago."

She walked out, moving to stand next to him and look at the picture. "Oh, that was your first day of eighth grade. My dad couldn't drop me off to school so your mom volunteered. I don't know, she found it and gave it to me as a house warming present." Jackie shrugged, walking into the kitchen. "There's this great diner about ten minutes from here. We can go and grab food and I can drop you off at home. Or I can order a pizza and we can hang out here."

Eric looked over his shoulder. He sighed and turned so that he was facing her. She was no longer in business clothes. She was in a pair of gray sweat pants with a pink sweater. Her hair was tied up and it looked like she had wiped some, not all, of the make up from her face.

"I never thought I see the day where Jackie Burkhart looked like a common person." He was expecting her to frown or insult him, but she simply smiled.

"I work eight to six, most days, once I'm home, everything that doesn't help the relaxing feeling, goes. So, diner or pizza?" Jackie leaned on, what Eric assumed was the counter, peering from the little window.

"Pizza is fine." Eric shrugged, flopping down to the couch. "Can I turn on the television?"

"Sure, the remote is in the drawer of the coffee table."

Eric leaned forward, grabbed the remote, and leaned back into the couch. He was instantly rewarded with a news program.

"You know," He stated, almost to himself. "I feel like I left and came back to a different life."

Jackie, who held the phone to her ear, looked through the window to the back of Eric's head.

"Donna has a boyfriend, Hyde has the record store, Kelso has a family, and Fez has a legitimate job. It feels like, I left and everyone got their lives in order."

She wasn't sure what he was trying to say or why he was saying anything at all. She figured that the extent of their conversation would focus on Donna or Hyde or something trivial. Something as simple as how the weather was for the past two years. But, here they were, Eric talking about things that seemed too intimate for them to be discussing.

"Maybe you shouldn't have stayed away for so long." She stated, after quietly ordering their pizza. "Maybe you should have came back when you were suppose too." She handed him a soda, sitting on the arm chair next to the couch.

The golden haired boy, man, stared at the top of his soda. It was hard to tell what he was thinking, Jackie mused. Before, Eric was fairly emotional, he was easy to read. Now, however, he sat with a look of thought on his face, no emotions.

"Maybe I should have just stayed in Africa." Jackie's face morphed into a look of shock.

"Eric, what the hell is in Africa that would promote you to want to stay there?"

She watched as his eyes stared at the top of his soda can.

"Never mind, I'm sorry." He leaned back into the sofa, his soda still unopened in his hand. With a smile and a shrug he chuckled. "I'm just over tired, I haven't shaken this jet-lag yet."

Ocean eyes stared at him doubtfully. "Eric, you can tell me you know."

The sound of his soda being popped open echoed across the living room.

"Jackie, there's nothing to tell." His smile grew and he snatched up the remote from next to himself. "So, when's the pizza getting here?"


	4. Chapter 4

**I don't own anything, blah, blah, blah. Sue me and you'll win nothing, blah, blah, blah.

Anyway… there _were_ two versions of this chapter one was really depressing and then this one. I went with this one because the other one was simply too angst. I think I wrote Hyde a bit of a jackass in this chapter, forgive me, I'll make him less of a jerk as the story goes on, and I def made Eric a bit naïve and Jackie as the voice of reason, which I think is a good mix-up of the two characters. Next chapter will take place (during the chapter) at Kelso's so there will be a lot of group action. This is mainly focused on Eric and Jackie. Any suggestions and what not, I love to hear them. And thank you Kezztip, I def OD with the ocean eyes ;). There are no ocean eyes in this chapter. And a special thank you to Everyone who reviewed and alerted to the story, you guys really make my day (and after spending it with 8-12 sick infants/wobblers, anything that doesn't involve a runny nose or a coughing fit on my lap, is Grade A amazing!). I hope you enjoy, R&R, and Happy Readings!

* * *

Over the next few days Eric found himself in the company of one Jackie Burkhart more often then not. He realized that the brunette's routine seemed to involve a lot of his own personal space. Such as breakfast with his parents Saturday morning and then church with his mother on Sunday. She even offered to drive with him to Kelso's Saturday night, since she was heading over there as well. She seemed to always be heading in the same direction as Eric.

"I just, didn't realize how much Jackie was really around." He leaned back on the stool, stretching his arms in the air, allowing them to come down to the counter. He had decided to hang out at the record store for most of the morning with Hyde. He figured he had been hanging around too much with Fez and Jackie over the course of the weekend and Monday and Tuesday. Some time with his best friend sounded like an answered prayer.

Hyde, who had been going through the bins, organizing the records gave a sideways look to the Eric.

"Dude, you've been talking about her for the last forty-five minutes. Wasn't it enough that you had to recount your entire weekend to me?"

"I'm just saying it's weird. If anyone should have been at my house for days on end, I would assume it would have been you. How was I suppose to know you moved out and rarely went over?" There was an accusing tone in Eric's voice. He had left his parents in the hands of Hyde, to be apart of the house and help out. It was unfair, perhaps, to leave Hyde with that type of responsibility, but Eric had done it anyway.

"Sorry I moved on Forman." Hyde rolled his eyes, a smirk on his lips. "Red was practically dancing an Irish jig when I got the last of my things from the house."

Eric didn't say anything, he knew his father's love of space, especially good old fashioned personal space. Dancing an Irish jig was not a shocker.

"Look, Jackie hangs around your parents' house because after her dad bailed from jail and her life and her mom basically stated she never wanted to be a mother, your mom swooped in with brownies and love." Hyde shrugged, moving to the next bin, a few records in his hands. "Jackie needs some kind of emotional anchor, which, lets be honest, only your mom can actually give."

Eric, who had leaned forward so that his chin rested in his hand, raised an eyebrow. "I didn't know her parents did that."

"Eric, you don't know anything. Your mom stopped telling you what we were doing because she swore, up and down, it would make you envious and make you regret staying in Africa. Which on some level she wanted you to regret it so you would come home, but she never played it up. So, all you know, is that we finally got our acts together and moved on." Hyde had shifted, so that he was facing his friend, his arms crossed at his chest.

"I'm happy you all got your acts together." Eric looked at from Hyde, focusing on the various posters on the wall. "I was hoping you guys would."

Silenced filled the record store, neither boy talking as Hyde went back to the bins and Eric continued to eye the store.

"Why didn't you and Jackie get back together?" Eric kept his eyes on a Led Zeppelin poster as the rebel rocker's sigh echoed between them.

"Forman, seriously?"

"I was curious," Eric put his arms in the air, "sorry."

Hyde made a noise and ran his hand down the front of his face. He shifted very quickly, causing Eric to sit up a bit straighter and lower his arms.

"What is this? You don't flinch, you don't blink, dude, you ask things that you know, _you know_, is going to get your happy ass beat down. And all you've been doing since you got back, less then a week ago, is ask us, all of us, question after question after question. I didn't get back together with Jackie because she did not want to get back together with _me_. Apparently, whatever me and her had, basically broke her or whatever." Hyde had walked the length of the store so that he was standing in front of Eric, hovering slightly over the sitting man. "And the reason I moved on, and Donna moved on, and Kelso _moved_ on, is because that is what happens. You missed _two_ years of our lives man. You can't expect to come home acting like you went on vacation and all this shit happened in a short period of time."

Eric stared into his friend's shielded eyes. Hyde's breath was slightly haggard, his chest rising and falling bitterly. The air around them had taken on a thicker quality, the rock music that had been on as background noise seemed louder in their ears.

Seconds, minutes, passed between them, neither boy moving from their spot. The bell on the front door jingled, causing Hyde to give a final look to Eric before turning around.

"Welcome to Grooves Records. What can I do you for?"

---

"Oh, that's just terrible." Eric walked into the kitchen, sending a curious glance towards his mother who was on the phone. "I know, I can't believe it happened."

He had left the record store almost immediately after the customer, a tall, blonde girl, began asking Hyde about some new up and coming band. It had occurred to him, prior to coming home, that there would have been some bitterness from Donna, and maybe Fez, because let's be honest, it's Fez. He had no idea that Hyde would feel so strongly about random questions or Eric's attempt of renovating some of the bridges he had previously ignored.

"I'll go over there and stay the rest of the night with her." Kitty 'tsked' into the phone. "That poor woman. I'll bake some cookies and rush over. Bye Marge."

"What poor old woman?" Eric, who was pouring a glass of milk for himself, looked at his mother with mild concerned.

"Oh, it's Anita from down the street. She took a nasty spill last night and broke her ankle. Her nephew has a class early in the morning and he can't help her out tonight. I'm going to have to call Jackie and cancel." She shook her head, reaching for the phone once again.

"You and Jackie had plans?" Eric cocked an eyebrow, bringing the cup to his lips.

"She comes over on Wednesdays and I teach her some recipes." Kitty shrugged innocently. "I love how she's really grown into cooking."

Eric stared at his mother, the cup chilling in his hand on the counter. "I'll go hang out with her."

Kitty turned swiftly to her son, her hand still on the phone. "What?"

"I mean, she's probably going to be really disappointed that your busy and stuff, so I'll go to her place and we can make soup."

"You don't know how to make soup."

"You pour it into a pot mom, monkeys can make soup." He smiled at his mother, only to receive a weird look from her.

"You were complaining about how she's always around and now you're volunteering to spend time with her. You have a fever don't you? I knew you would catch one of those exotic diseases." Eric braced himself against the counter as Kitty flew at him, her hand going straight to his forehead.

"Mom, mom, I'm fine, I'm fine." He grabbed her wrist, gently lowering her hand from his forehead. "It's just, that, it's easy hanging out with Jackie. She doesn't get weird when she's telling me something I missed nor does she yell at me when I ask questions. It's like," Eric gestured his hand forward. "It's like being with someone who I was never friends with, so there's no awkwardness reconnecting. You know?"

As the words floated into the air in front of him, Eric felt that his message not only didn't get across but he sounded like a moron. However, his mother's face went from concerned, to confused, to thoughtful, to, finally, landing on this look of knowledge. A look that didn't sit well with Eric.

"Oh, I see." Kitty's lips upturned into a bright smile, slowly getting brighter with every nod of understanding from her head. "I guess I can understand."

"Mom, what's that look about?" He could almost _see_ the wheels turning in her head.

"Nothing, nothing. I get it. I understand." She winked at him. "You and Jackie will have so much fun."

"No, seriously, what is that look for?"

Kitty winked again, bouncing her head to the imaginary music playing in the kitchen. There was an extra bounce in her step and she was practically floating as she picked up the phone and dialed out.

"Hello Jackie!" Eric inwardly cringed as she used a sing-song tone to greet the brunette on the outside of town. "I have the most wonderful news."

---

Jackie walked out of her bedroom, her hair was loose about her shoulders and her face was clear of any make-up. She was wearing a long black sweater over a pair of leggings from her ballerina days and her feet were covered by the warmest socks she could find. There was even a blanket laying over the top of the couch for whatever chill was left in the air.

She had started feeling overly cold at work. Which was strange because she had bundled up extra tight that morning due to the forecast of flurries. Now, she was happy that she was at a decent enough temperature.

A knock at the door echoed across the apartment, causing her to turn from the direction of the kitchen to her front door. She opened the entrance and gave a smile to Eric, who was standing awkwardly in the hallway.

"Hey, come on it." She side stepped, allowing him to walk in.

"I'm sorry that my mom had to cancel your cooking lesson thing." He gave her a small smile, holding out a plastic bag. "Red gave me some money to rent _womanly_ movies. And," Eric pulled his other hand from behind his back, the neck of a bottle of wine was strangled in his fist. "Mom gave me wine to bring over."

Jackie stared at the bag and at the wine, her eyebrow raising delicately. "Wow, if I didn't know better I would think we were having a date." She was about to laugh until she looked up at the unamused eyes of her companion. A realization fell over her. "Oh, we're on a date."

"Apparently, since I volunteered to keep you company, my mom thinks we hit it off, in the span of six days. So, she was skipping around the house humming the wedding march." Eric nodded his head gravely. "I was a little worried that all the alcohol would get to her, eventually, I didn't think it be this early in the game though."

Jackie let out a chuckle. "Good old Kitty." She grabbed the wine, heading towards the kitchen. "I will admit that I was a little surprised you offered to come over." She stuck her head in the window. "I was under the impression that our company was strictly on a coincidence basis."

Eric smirked, shrugging off his jacket and placing the videos on the coffee table. "How was I suppose to know you took over Laurie's place as the chosen one?"

She looked up, his smirk still ever present. "Someone had to keep your mother occupied while her baby boy was away." A smug smile lit her lips and she gently pressed passed him, back towards the couch.

"Thank you for that." His voice was even and she had a feeling the smile on his face was no longer there.

"I didn't do anything out of the ordinary Eric. I was just," she shrugged, still facing the blank television. "There."

"That's doing a lot more then I could have asked. I was really worried about them in Africa. Well," he chuckled, causing Jackie to turn and face him. "I wasn't too worried about Red, because, come on now. But you know my mom, she's a real trooper, don't get me wrong, but I worried about her."

"She was in good hands." Jackie smiled, walking past him to sit down, her hand gently patting his arm.

Eric nodded, sitting on the other side of the couch. "I bought _Saturday Night Fever _and _Grease_."

Jackie looked over at him and laughed. "In a John Travolta type mood, huh?"

"Well," Eric got up and grabbed the bag, moving the six feet to the television. "He is a hunk." A smile formed across his lips as Jackie's laugh echoed between them.

---

A black screen rolled across the television, the credit music dancing into his head. He blinked once, twice, and finally a third time before stifling a yawn. How they had managed to stay awake for both movies was beyond him. _Grease_ wasn't _too_ bad he reasoned with himself. The music was upbeat and he, reluctantly, enjoyed listening to Jackie sing/hum with the songs. And _Saturday Night Fever_ was the same as it always had been, but then again, he had seen it multiple times. It was bound to get boring after the fifteenth or sixteenth time.

He looked down at Jackie who was curled up against him. At some point they had made a pot of soup and drunk it from the large mugs Jackie had. Eric had also poured himself and Jackie half a glass of wine towards the end of _Grease_. From the very beginning of the second movie, Eric noticed Jackie shivering gently under the blanket she had grabbed from the top of the couch. It was weird because he hadn't felt the least bit chilly.

After glancing at her for the better part of fifteen minutes, Eric had rolled his eyes, and leaned towards her, grabbing her arm. He was surprised when she didn't object to being pulled into him.

And now, as they curled on the couch, Eric enjoyed the extra warmth the midget provided him. But, then again, it could have been the wine talking. As Jackie pulled away, a chill from the lost body heat ran over Eric's side, he knew that it wasn't just the grape liquor.

"What did you do all day?" Jackie's voice was groggy, possibly from the lack of talking that had gone on.

"I went to the record store, got a lecture from your ex." He smirked, leaning into the couch, his elbow resting on the arm, and his hand gently smoothing the side of his hair.

Jackie made a face, wrapping the blanket around her as she walked into the kitchen. "And what right does he have to lecture you?"

"Apparently I have to stop asking questions about all the shit I missed, and stop acting like I just got back from a vacation." Eric chuckled. "I guess my absence did nothing for his etiquette."

He strained his ears towards the kitchen, only to hear something being run under the sink and then placed on the stove. He waited an extra couple of seconds, finally deciding to get up and go to the kitchen. He leaned against the doorway, watching as Jackie stood in the middle of the tiny room, staring at the flame under the kettle.

"It's not like you to be speechless." He chuckled again, hoping to promote her to laugh or giggle. His hope was sent to feign ears.

"I'm not saying that it's right for him to say anything too you, because you were gone for a long time and you did miss out on a lot of stuff. I think we should be helping you fill in some of the blanks." Jackie sighed, shaking her head. She moved towards him, her hand quickly reaching up and gently dusting his shirt of the blanket fuzz. He couldn't ignore the linger of her fingers on his arm or side. He didn't want too. "You have to admit though," she moved back to her original spot, in front of the stove. "Hyde, Donna, and Michael are going to have some resentment. Hyde had no good friend around to have a serious conversation. Donna had to figure out if she should wait for you or move on. Michael, well, you've met him." Jackie shrugged. "I think if you willingly made the choice to stay in Africa, you need to be ready for the consequences."

Jackie quickly moved forward, grabbing the kettle before it could whistle. She placed it on a porcelain plate that laid next to the stove.

She stood at the counter, her hands resting at the edges, her head shifted to stare at the boy leaning against the frame of her kitchen doorway. He stood, staring back at her, a look of impassiveness on his face. Over the course of the week, she had found herself studying him. The way there was a more serious tone to his features, and the gentle curve of muscle in his arms. His face seemed still fuller, even without the five o'clock shadow that he had never had before.

There was also the variable that Eric, the twitchiest one of them all, was no longer bumbling over his words or trying to pretend to be brave. She could notice, when he was relaxed, that the old Eric was still there. And it was the little things, such as his smirk or the way he ran his fingers through his hair when the situation became awkward. Little things that Jackie had never truly noticed because she had always found him to be annoying. That and she was too busy chasing after Steven and Michael to really pay attention.

"You haven't mentioned Star Wars or Spiderman or whatever at all this week." Eric laughed slightly, moving into the kitchen to grab two mugs from the cupboard.

"The village I worked for didn't really have too much modern conveniences to fully understand any of that stuff." He took the kettle from in front of her, filling one mug to the top and the other halfway through. "When I first started teaching, I spent one day explaining the beginning journeys of Luke Skywalker to the kids. I was impressed with how astonished they were by it."

"Look who was telling them about it." She couldn't help the laugh that escaped her lips. "Of course Star Wars' number one fan would bring a certain excitement to the table."

"Hey, don't go knocking Star Wars." Eric's smile was picture worthy, as he pointed at Jackie jokingly. "We learned many a thing from Star Wars."

With tea in hand, Jackie simply smiled, mainly because the old Eric was still there, underneath whatever little secret he was keeping from them.

As they settled back into the couch, mugs in hand. Eric ran his tongue over his lips. "Why didn't you get back together with Hyde?"

He thought the question might catch her off guard, maybe even upset her. But, Jackie only cocked her head to the side thoughtfully.

"He wanted to marry me before I ran away to Chicago, then when he finally got back he decided he didn't want to marry anyone yet. Then we found out he drunkenly married a stripper whore in Vegas, only to find out that she was already married. And then he went celibate for about a month, and then started sleeping with blonde bimbos." Jackie had straightened her head so she could look at Eric. "How do you go from wanting to marry someone, who legitimately loved you, to sleeping with random girls who won't remember your name or theirs in the morning?"

"He said he tried getting back together with you." Jackie's lips twitched towards a smile.

"Ah, that's what you asked to set him off." She nodded her head as Eric's eyebrow rose. "Yes, he did ask me back, while the girl he was sleeping with was in the other room and the guy who was taking me out that night was standing next to me. He didn't want any other boys playing with me." Jackie's lips were in a flew blown smirk. "We finally got to a level where we slightly burn each other and then silently stay in each other's company. There is animosity, of course, but also some form of silent agreement that we can still be in each other's company."

"That's pretty unhealthy." Eric stared at the girl on the opposite side of the couch.

"Yes, well, we all have our crosses to bear." She brought the tea up to her lips.

"Thank you for not biting my head off." Jackie looked over at him, his eyes a totally different green then she had remembered.

"Eric, you and I do not have the same fragile relationship as the main three of the group. It doesn't bother me to answer your questions."

Silenced filled the space between them. Both slowly drinking their tea and contemplating the trials and tribulations Eric would have to go through to prove to his friends he wasn't leaving again. And after several minutes, as Jackie placed down her empty tea cup, Eric caught her hand in his.

"You've been an amazing friend over the past few days. And I wanted you to know that, for whatever it's worth."

It was enough to cause the brunette to smile widely, as well as, cause the golden-haired boy to contemplate the weird feeling he suddenly acquired in the pit of his stomach.


	5. Chapter 5

Don't own a thing, yadda, yadda, yadda.

Sorry for the delay, my house was filled with guest from up North as well as my brother's graduation. It's been a tipsy turvy week. Once again, thank you, SO MUCH , to everyone who reviewed (hell, even if you just read it, or alerted it, or anything). You guys are incredible!! This chapter is a bit out there, and there's a bit of a cliffhanger, but not really. Next chapter should be very interesting. I believe there will be more from our Dearest Steven Hyde in Chapter 6. ENJOY, R&R, and Happy Readings!

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Eric walked into the studio, half amazed by the grand foyer, with the glass doors and trendy secretary; half blinded by the bright lights and colors of the walls and desk.

"Welcome to Kenosha WPTF Studies. How can I assist you today?" The secretary had a large smile that complimented her green eyes.

"I would like to see Jackie Burkhart please." The woman let her head drop so that she could look at her desk. After about fifteen seconds she grabbed her phone and with lightening speed dialed a number.

"Where is Ms. Burkhart?" She tilted her head, her eyes still on the desk. "Uh huh. Uh huh." Eric watched as she began tapping her pen. "Uh huh… Ok, thank you." She hung up the phone, her head popping up to look at Eric. "Ms. Burkhart is downstairs in studio four. If you go through the glass doors and take the elevator to the ground floor, all you have to do is walk down to the giant door with a four on it." She smiled and pressed a button, causing a buzzing noise to fill the foyer. "Have a wonderful day."

Eric barely smiled at the woman as he rushed through the doors, breathing deeply as the lights seemed dimmer.

He had debated for most of the morning if he wanted to come down to the studio in the first place. Going over the record store seemed foolish, seeing as how he was still a bit miffed with his friend. Fez had disappeared to, Eric assumed, Chicago. Donna said she would make lunch plans with him today, but it hadn't worked out. And truth be told, Eric was somewhat bored at home. He hadn't seen Jackie since Wednesday night, since he had confessed how amazing a friend she was.

Sure, it was only a day, but it felt longer somehow.

As he neared the elevator he paused to see a raven haired woman walking down the hallway. She was wearing jeans, black boots, a white button down shirt, and a black sweater vest. Her hair was pulled into a tight bun, accented by a white ribbon with a bow tied to the side.

"Hey." Eric mentally kicked himself. There were much more suave ways of greeting a woman. Even though he knew it shouldn't matter, it was just Jackie.

She looked up, her make-up perfectly crafted over her slightly red eyes and even slightly redder cheeks and nose. Her lips turned quickly upwards as she lowered the paper she had been reading.

"Hey you. I wasn't expecting to see you today." She gently patted his arm before pressing the up button on the elevator. "What do I owe the pleasure?"

He tried to ignore the urge to smile, but his lips lit up anyway. Sticking his hands in his pockets he shrugged, his eyes moving to look around Jackie's job. "I was suppose to have lunch with Donna and this infamous Ryan, but she canceled. Since I was planning on coming to Kenosha anyway, it seemed logical. Are you ok?" He resisted the urge to touch her face. There was concern in his voice, which he wished he had hid better.

Jackie sighed and rolled her eyes. "I have the slightest of colds. It's not a big deal."

They both stepped into the elevator, walking to the back and leaning against the railing. They found themselves standing quite close to each other. Eric's jacket just slightly grazing Jackie's sleeve. Neither of them seemed to mind.

"They told me you were in a studio." Jackie looked at him and then the front of the silver box they were in.

"I was watching one of the shows that my friend works with. He's a junior producer, he runs around on the set with the head phones." Jackie chuckled. "He hates the producer for the show he's apart of."

The elevator came to a stop, Jackie was the first to push off of the railing, Eric following close behind her.

"You mind hanging in the office for a bit? I really don't have to be down in the studios for the rest of the day."

"Yeah, it's fine." Eric gave her a smile, making sure he was no more then a few steps after her.

"It's a small office, but there's a window." She turned her head, giving him an encouraging look. "What are your plans for the weekend?"

As he began to respond, Jackie turned towards a door, opening it quickly. Her office wasn't small at all, at least not in Eric's opinion. It had a desk, a beautiful black chair, with chairs in front of the desk, a large bookcase, and even a potted plant. The window was from halfway on the wall, all the way up to the ceiling. He stood in shock for a second, barely noticing as Jackie sat down in her chair, dropping the files on her desk.

"Eric? Hello?" Her laugh echoed across the room. "Stop it, come on, have a seat."

It took no time at all for him to settle in and for the two to begin talking about Jackie's cold and Eric's boring time at home. Even though it had only been a day that passed between them, there were still stories to tell. And that was impressive all by itself.

A knock at the door interrupted the two. A waif girl with glasses and a round face, stood confidently in the doorway she had opened.

"Ms. Burkhart, you have a phone call on line three. Missy says it's a Michael Kelso." Eric turned quickly to Jackie give a look and click her tongue against the roof of her mouth.

"Thank you Lauren." Jackie shifted, grabbing her phone and pressing a button. "Hello, Jackie Burkhart."

Eric leaned into his chair, smiling as he watched Jackie's face become animated with the conversation she was having with their old friend.

"I don't know what my plans are for the weekend… I think that's a good idea, are you going to tell him?" Jackie made a face, causing Eric's smile to widen. "I believe I'm going to the Forman's house, so I'll get him to come over… Alright?… Ok… I'll see you tomorrow… five sharp… Bye Michael." Jackie cracked her neck as she hung up the phone.

"I'm coming over?" He chuckled. "Where exactly am I coming over?"

"Michael and Brooke are throwing you a surprise dinner, which would consist of you, them, Fez and April, Donna and Ryan, and Steven and, I think, Maggie. I'm sure you're allowed to bring someone."

"The only person I would bring is you, but you're already invited." The statement hung in the air, awkwardly, for a second or two. Jackie's cheeks instantly blushed as Eric began to clear his throat. A new, weird tension seemed to filter between them. "You know, what I mean."

Jackie smiled and nodded her head. "Well, after our dinner, Michael will also be throwing a beer party, which will involve _a lot_ of random people."

"Sounds like fun." Eric ran his hand threw his hair. "What time do you want me to pick you up tomorrow?"

He watched as Jackie froze, for a mere half of a second, and then tilted her head.

"You want to go together?" Eric raised an eyebrow, his smile returning to his face.

"Well, yes that would be logical." She laughed, looking down at her desk and the random papers on it. "I guess around one? It takes a good few hours to get up there and he said no later then five."

"Sounds like a plan. And I need to act surprise right? Should I work out a face?" Eric let his mouth drop and he put his hands out in a shock/surprised manner. Jackie shook her head, the smile on her face lit like a candle on the high holy days.

"I would keep practicing." She leaned back into her chair as Eric scoffed.

---

Jackie stood in front of her mirror, moving from side to side. She had tried on close to a bazillion outfits, finally deciding on a pair of black jeans and a baby pink turtleneck sweater. She had put her hair in a pony tail and had applied a minimal amount of make-up. The pit of her stomach was tittering rapidly.

She was about ninety five percent positive on why she was feeling the familiar butterflies in her stomach. Seeing Eric a week ago had been quite an experience. It was like seeing a ghost. You wanted to believe what you were seeing, but the truth of the matter was against you.

It wasn't the fact that it was Eric and she had always hated him, because she really never had. It was the fact that it was Eric and instead of falling into the same routine of name calling, the two had actually formed a friendship. Maybe they had really grown up.

Maybe they were just really good at pretending.

The knock at the door pressed Jackie from her thoughts. She sighed and walked the length of her bedroom, hall, and living room to get to the door. The heels of her boots clicking against the wood floor.

Eric stood, on the other side, wearing jeans and a button down shirt un-tucked. His hair looked shorter, styled slightly messy, slightly rugged. He had an annoyed look on his face instead of his normal half smile.

"What's wrong?" Jackie's voice was flat as she opened the door wider for him to come in.

"Nothing, I'm just tired. Red wanted me to do a whole bunch of things this morning and when I got done, he had a whole other list. Apparently the excitement from coming home from Africa lasts, precisely, a week, and that week was over yesterday." Eric rolled his eyes.

"Your hair looks nice though." Jackie gently touched the top, trying to change the route of the conversation.

"Red thought it was getting a little long. Americans have nice, trimmed hair." Eric chuckled a bit. "The guy threw some gel in it and created a _style_. I can't really complain. You look great yourself. Pink is always a beautiful color for you."

Jackie felt a heat on her cheeks and she quickly looked away from his green stare. "Thanks." Her throat dried almost instantly. Coughing slightly, she gestured towards the front door. "We don't want to be late."

Eric smirked, letting his head drop so that he stared at the floor, a slight nod being produced. He took a deep breath and lifted his head, moving the few steps to open the door for her. "After you m'lady."

Jackie, once again, felt the heat on her cheeks.

---

"Oh my god! You guys got here! Michael!" Brooke's face was lit up as she threw open the front door and captured Jackie into a tight hug. Her face seemed to brighten even more as she let go of her friend and latched on to Eric. "You guys made excellent timing. Hyde and what's her name are not going to get here until six, honestly." She rolled her eyes, side stepping. "Come in, come in!"

Eric couldn't help but laugh as he placed a hand on Jackie's shoulder and followed her into his friend's home. His eyes quickly took in the nicely sized cape cod Kelso and Brooke had recently purchased.

"The house is beautiful, Brooke." The brunette waved him off, but smiled none the less.

"I finally have it decorated to my idealistic tastes. Michael!" She shook her head. "Betsy is with my mom for the night, since we're having the keg party and what not."

Jackie's face fell. "I wanted to play with her."

"You guys can stay the night. It's not a problem. In the morning we can pick up Betsy and go out to lunch or something."

"Brooke, jeez, I had to make sure the keg was chilling." Eric and Jackie both leaned to the side, watching as Kelso appeared from a door in the little hallway leading directly to the kitchen. "You guys are early. I like that." He grabbed Jackie into a large hug and then grabbed Eric into a hug as well. "But, seriously, you were suppose to be here at five sharp, remember?"

"Oh, Michael, it's fine. Eric, surprise!" Eric laughed, causing Brooke and Jackie to start giggling.

"Uh! You ruined the surprise!" Kelso stomped his foot, swiveling around to walk into the kitchen.

Brooke, still laughing, tried to talk as she followed behind her fiancé.

"He's such a trip." Jackie stated, wiping away the few tears that had formed in the corners of her eyes. She walked over to the couch that laid right near to the front door, just off to the right. Eric watched her, clearing his throat and rubbing his neck.

"Brooke doesn't like Hyde's girlfriend?" It took a few extra seconds but he eventually made it to the couch next to Jackie.

She shrugged and made a face. "Steven doesn't really have girlfriends. They're more like bed mates. Maggie is the latest. She's been around for a few months now, she's nothing really to write home about. Brooke just thinks Steven can be doing something a little less raunchy."

"She thinks he should have went back with you." Eric concluded as Jackie's eyes drifted away from him. The blue/green eyes of his companion swiveled to look back at him. There was a shock look embedded on her face.

It took a minute or so for Jackie to regain control of her vocals, her head dropping so she could stare at her manicured hands.

"She thinks he should have made different choices."

Brooke took this opportunity to walk in, a beer in one had and a pink colored drink in the other hand.

"Donna said that she would be coming after work, so that will be after five. Fez should be here soon." Brooke sat on her coffee table, looking at the two as she handed Eric the beer and Jackie the pink colored drink. She leaned, so that her elbows hit her knees. "You two are adorable together. I wanted to say it last weekend, but Eric and Michael were running up and down the house and yard and stuff."

Jackie and Eric stared at Brooke with the same identical blank look. Kelso walked in, a beer in his own hand.

"What you guys talking about?" He raised the beer to his lips.

Brooke patted Jackie's knee, shifting herself on the coffee table so she could look at man pretty boy. "I was telling Eric and Jackie how cute they look together. Remember I told you that last week when they came over?"

"Oh, yeah, pf," Kelso let out a short burst of laughter, bringing the bottle back up to his lips. Silence filled the living room. He pulled the bottle from his lips, and then raised it towards the ceiling. "Jackie and Eric hate each other, baby. They don't do cute together."

Eric laughed and stood up, walking away from Jackie and Brooke. He clinked his beer with Kelso's and headed towards the kitchen. He let his head drop so that he could stare at the ceiling.

---

"It's so great to meet you man, like seriously. This group is always shooting their mouths off about you." Ryan, in Eric's opinion, was pretty cool. He had black hair, with yellow colored eyes. He looked nothing like Eric body wise, but wasn't overly narcissistic about his physique. And, to top it off, the guy had a great sense of humor.

Eric would have been lying if he said he didn't like dear old Ryan.

"Sorry about that," Eric laughed, shaking Ryan's hand. "It's really great to finally meet you too."

Ryan smiled and looked over at Donna who was smirking. "We're really sorry about lunch yesterday." It was the second time she was apologizing.

"Honestly, don't worry about it, I stopped by the studio and hung out with Jacks for a bit." Eric took a swig of his drink.

Donna raised an eyebrow, looking at Eric. "Hey, babe, can you grab me a soda?"

Ryan looked at the blonde haired woman and then out into the crowd of people at Kelso's. "Not a problem."

Eric followed Ryan as he disappeared through the mass of people, turning back to look at Donna, whose smirk was now twice the size.

"What?'

"You didn't tell me you went over to the studio. Jacks, huh?" She nodded her head, looking towards the crowd and then back at the golden haired boy. "I really would have never guessed."

"Guessed what?" Green eyes narrowed, the bottle being lifted towards his lips.

"I should have expected it, you know. What with Hyde, Kelso, and Fez." She shrugged. "I don't even think it shocks me."

"Donna, what the hell are you talking about?" He knew exactly what she was talking about, there was just no way he was going to fall into this little game.

"Eric, you have a crush on Jackie." She leaned on the back of her heels, her arms crossing as her smirk remained plastered across her face.

"You," Eric pointed at her, the rest of his fingers gagging the neck of the bottle, "are on some serious drugs."

"Maybe, maybe not." Her eyes glanced across the crowd again. "Either way, you still have a crush on the cheerleader." She nudged him with her elbow. "I never knew she was your type."

"Serious drugs." He took a swig of his beer, thanking god as Ryan found his way back to them.

"Fez wants us to go over to see this new dance move of his." The boy looked at Eric, smiled, and then nodded his head. "We'll be back in a few."

Eric waved them off. "Take your time."

He rolled his eyes as the paired turned and began walking towards their foreign friend. It was amazing to see Ryan fit in so very well with Eric's friends and his ex-girlfriend. It should have unnerved him, but it didn't.

"There you are! I hope you don't mind the party, man. It was just such a perfect opportunity!" Kelso was easily buzzed, dancing thinly on the line of being drunk. He gave Eric a hard swat on the shoulder. "You never say no to a party!"

"It's fine Kelso, I'm enjoying it." Eric looked around the room to the nameless faces he would probably never see again unless there was another Kelso party opportunity.

"I am really glad you're back Eric, because I wanted to ask you to be my best man. Brooke said Fez couldn't be the best man, because, I don't really know." Kelso sighed and shrugged overdramatically. "I'd really appreciate it."

Eric laughed. "I'll be whatever you need me to be at this big wedding, ok?"

"Perfect!" Kelso let out a hiccup. "I think I need another beer."

"I think you do." Eric gently turned his friend in the direction of the kitchen. He rolled his eyes and turned back to face a tired looking Jackie Burkhart. "You look just fantastic." He laughed and gently brought her into his side. "What's wrong?"

"I think this stupid cold is still running through my system. I feel like crap." She stifled a yawn, leaning herself into Eric for warmth and support. He lazily placed his arm around her.

"We could go home, you know." It was in the moment, as he leaned his head down so he could talk less over the music and more to her, that Eric realized how close the two were to each other.

It was in that moment that he realized what the last week or so had given him, in exchange for the last two years he had missed out on.

"It's almost one in the morning." Eric scoffed and looked at his wrist.

It was twelve fifty-three. Where the hell had the entire night gone too? They had just had dinner, and right after Brooke had thrown the last dish in the sink, guest started to arrive. Hell, all of the guests were still rocking and rolling, wide eyed and full of energy.

"That's incredible, it feels like it's nine or something."

"Maybe we should get a motel room and just crash there. I don't feel like being in a car and it's too late to be driving." Jackie shook her head. "We need sleep."

Eric nodded his head and mumbled that he would get their jackets and things. Other then talking to Fez and April, which had gone on for the better part of a couple of hours, and then the time he spent talking with Ryan and Donna earlier and then again just moments before, Eric felt that he had not spent the proper amount of time with either Kelso or Hyde.

Then again, right after guests started to arrive, he had lost Jackie to Brooke. He had spent the last four hours hanging with Fez and Donna.

"Should we tell them we're leaving?" Jackie shook her head as Eric scanned the room.

"I'll call Brooke in the morning, we can go out for breakfast and see Betsy." Jackie slipped her coat on, trying to hold in a cough.

Eric rolled his eyes, gently pressing his hand to her back so he could direct her outside. "Not sick my ass. My mom is so making you soup tomorrow."

"Shut up." Jackie slapped his arm. "I'm a grown up, I can do as I please."

---

The closest motel was about fifteen minutes from Kelso's house. Jackie was practically asleep as Eric pulled into the half empty parking lot.

He tried to support her groggy form as they walked into the shabby looking office.

"One room, two beds, please." Eric smiled to the man.

"Sorry kid. We only have suites available. That's one room with one bed." Eric looked at him, and then down to Jackie who was staring at the man with a perturbed look. "It's all I got."

He looked at Jackie and then back at the man. He sighed, his hand moving to rub his temple. "We'll take it."


	6. Chapter 6

I own nothing, obviously.

Just a quick little thing. Hyde will be in the next chapter, I promise, as will Donna. I'll bring Kelso and Fez in Chapter 8. Def not going to tell you if anything happens with Eric and Jackie next chapter. And yes, there will probably be a love triangle ;). The Africa thing is a bit weird and I didn't explain too much, but it will come to light. I did add a bit of one-sided Jackie, JH. Thank you all so much for the reviews, alerts, and for reading. Hope you enjoy! Happy Readings!

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_December 10th__, 1979, Small Village in the central area of Africa._

_"Eric! Eric!" The golden haired man smiled brightly, squatting down to catch the tiny child in his arms. She was four years old with blonde curls and bright green eyes. _

_"Daisy, my goodness, you can't be slamming into people like that." Eric looked up, his smile seeming to burst off his face as a woman approached them._

_"You can tell mommy that it's not a big deal because I was gone for a whole week!" He stood up, the child in his arms, sticking his tongue out at the woman. _

_She laughed and shook her head. "You're spoiling her."_

_"Someone has too. She's in a village with a doll." Eric made a noise with his tongue as the three walked towards a large building in the back of the village. "At home I have at least twenty G.I. Joes."_

_"Forgive me for living in a poverty stricken city." The woman was not put off by anything Eric was saying. She was short, maybe five-three, five-four. Her hair was a chocolate brown, cut just above her shoulders. Currently, her lips were upturned into a smile, her brown eyes watching Daisy and Eric affectionately. _

_"I'm happy you're home." Daisy said, interrupting whatever Eric was about to say. She pressed her face into his neck, snuggling close to him._

_Eric hugged her back, stopping to look at a group of children playing. "It's Kashia and Thomas. Why don't you go play?" He gave her a wink. "I'll be at your house all night, so you'll have plenty of time with me."_

_Daisy looked at him, then her mother, and finally at the children. It took a second, but her face finally morphed into a smile. With a nod of her head, Eric placed her down and before they knew it she was joining in on the festivities. _

_"Did you talk to your family?" The woman turned so that she could watch Daisy, yet still talk to Eric._

_"My mom started crying. I think I could have come up with a better excuse then I just don't want to come home, though." Eric shrugged, stretching his arms upwards. "I didn't even talk to my friends."_

_"You could go home Eric. Nothing here is stopping you." Her tone suggested that there was, indeed, something stopping him._

_Eric made a noise, pulling the woman into his arms. He bent his head so that he could kiss the top of her head. "I told you I was going to stay. So don't even go there." He pulled away, keeping her in his arms. _

_"Eric." She shook her head. "You're being ridiculous."_

_"Cali." He mimicked her movements. "I don't care. All I care about is you and Daisy."_

_She scoffed, smiling, and pressed her face back into his chest._

… Eric's eyes opened as the memory turned into faded thought, and as the shower turned off. There was now a silence that seemed too deep and too full of question, that to even think about sleep was almost as ridiculous as running a 5k race.

He sighed, shutting his eyes once again. His feet sat on the floor, as his knees bent at the edge of the bed, and the rest of his body laid to stare at the ceiling. It was at least two o'clock, even though it still felt as if it was nine or ten. He didn't even remember what he had been doing at nine or ten.

The bathroom door opened, the scent of soap rushed across the large suite, sweeping into his nose.

"Are you sleeping?" Her voice was low and gentle, carefully toned to not wake him if he was.

"No." He tried to clear his throat. "I'm not."

He tried to listen for the sound of her footsteps on the carpet, but there were none. There was no sound of anything. All he could do was feel the heat of the steam leaking from the bathroom and the scent of the soap filling his lungs.

For a second time, he opened his eyes, the white ceiling welcoming him back to reality. He coughed and pushed himself up, so that his elbows could sit on his thighs and his eyes could stare at her.

"You can come and lay down. The bed won't bite," he smirked. "I can't promise the same from me."

Jackie laughed, shaking her head. The wet tendrils curled excitedly, dripping water across the carpet and the small table she stood by. She was wearing his button down shirt, in hopes that it would be more comfortable then her pants and sweater. It had been his idea.

"You are ok with sharing the bed, right?" His smirk seemed to grow. "I am not sleeping on the floor Princess."

She walked over to him, hitting his shoulder. She stuck her tongue out and shifted the covers so she could slip into the right side of the bed.

"You're wearing jeans to sleep in."

Eric looked at her, finally standing up and stretching his long limbs. "I guess so, I won't be too uncomfortable."

"Boxers or briefs." Laughs filled the room for the briefest of moments.

Without answering, Eric shed his jeans, showing off his blue checkered boxers.

"I like getting some air." Jackie made a face, rolling over to face her nightstand as Eric pulled the covers back and slipped into the bed. He laid on his back, his hands going behind his head so he could let his elbows stick out.

"When was the last time you had a sleepover?" He knew her question was innocent and friendly, but he wasn't sure what answer she expected.

"Little less then six months ago." He cleared his throat, moving his head to look at her back.

"So there was a girl in Africa." Jackie rolled around to face him. There was already a water stain forming around her head; almost like a halo. "I _knew_ it. Why else would you have not wanted to come home. But, why didn't you come home earlier then?"

Even in the dark, Eric could see the puzzled look in her face.

"Because I wasn't ready to leave them." It could have been the early hour or the exhaustion his body felt, but his defenses were too shot to stop him from talking with her.

"There was more then one?"

"Calista Walden and her daughter Daisy." He swallowed, possibly air, possibly just saliva. It was possible he was swallowing whatever emotion he had about the situation.

"Eric." Her voice, in that infliction, in that tone, was too familiar and too similar.

"She was staying at the village with my teaching group, there were two students, me and this guy Jeff, and two advisors. She had moved to Africa after breaking up with a boyfriend in the states, to do research. Seven months later, she had a baby girl, from the guy she had left." He had let his eyes wander away from Jackie to stare at the ceiling. "I loved Daisy, loved her. She was sweet and talkative and full of energy. And since I was homesick all the time, she made it a little more bearable.

"And Calista was great, always with a joke or some witty comment. She would have blown the guys away. Hell, she would have made Red think twice. They were great."

"What happened?" Jackie had shifted, so that she could look directly at him.

"The guy she had left, he came to Africa. He came to do his own research as well as find her. He had been looking for a good couple of years, apparently." Eric nodded his head. His voice taking on a more distance tone.

"She went back to him." Eric sighed and looked down at the brunette with the mix colored eyes.

"Not right away, but eventually." He shrugged, his arms having finally fallen to his sides. He felt Jackie's hand in his. "It's not a big deal, Jackie. I wasn't in love with her."

He had almost forgotten the way a body pressed against his side gave him a whole new kind of warmth. Or the way a woman's hand, always smaller then his, could fit so perfectly inside his own hand. He had forgotten the way, whether he was attracted to the woman or not, it felt so good to have them laying next to you. And as Jackie pressed herself against his side, squeezing his hand gently in her own, her other hand warming his cheek as she made him look at her in the dark, with the fading florescent light from outside, he suddenly remembered how he had never wanted to let go.

"That's why you stayed in Africa? To remain with a woman you weren't in love with?"

"I stayed in Africa to be with a woman who made it easier to live as myself, when I didn't know who I really was."

He could see Jackie's smile. "Always diplomatic."

Eric nodded his head, watching as her lips moved. The heat on his cheek was almost electric, and he wanted nothing more then to bring her into his arms and hold her there. Not because she was there or because she was being the friend he had needed since he left Africa. But because it felt right. She felt right.

He leaned his head down and captured her lips with his. He tasted the cherry lip balm she must have put on after her quick rendezvous with the shower, as well as the faded taste of the pink lemonade she had been drinking all night.

He did not think, as both her hands went to his face and then his neck, as his body shifted to be slightly over her, about Calista or Donna. He did not think about Kelso or Hyde. He did not think about how, Jackie Burkhart, a girl he had known since he was six, whom he had never had a civil relationship with, was in his arms, holding him as tightly as he was holding her.

To be honest, he didn't think of anything except the cherry lip balm and the pink lemonade.

---

She wasn't completely sure when or how the week had turned from Sunday morning to late Wednesday afternoon. It seemed to have just randomly happened. She had went to sleep Sunday night and woken up in her office on Wednesday, obviously.

"Jackie, I swear to god, I will kill you. I don't want too, because then I will have to get another producer, but I'll make the sacrifice." She blinked once, twice, and on the third time she was able to focus on her best friend and closest (not in the group) confidant.

"I'm sorry Jared." She ran her hand down her face. "I can't believe it's Wednesday."

"You can't believe you haven't seen the Eric guy since Sunday." Jackie gave him a look. "Pf, don't think you can lie to me."

Jared, who was tall, tanned, and very well built, with his little black headset, dropped the papers he had been holding on her desk and leaned back into the chair he had pulled closer to her.

"Have you talked to him? You might want to do that." Jackie rolled her eyes. She began to sort through some of the files and sheets of paper that were spread across her desk like a blanket.

"It's none of your business." Her voice was sing-song. She was not in the mood.

"So, out of your little group, you've kissed all the boys. I'm very impressed." She looked up from the sea of papers. "You've only slept with two of them. Which, that's impressive all by itself. I've seen Fez though, I don't blame you for not sleeping with him. I mean you technically slept, in the same bed, with this Eric kid, so that counts for something. But really--"

"Jared, shut up." The tall boy was rubbing his arm from the bouncing ball Jackie had thrown at him as her eyes stared narrowly at him. "We are not getting into _this_ right now. It doesn't matter who I have kissed or slept with or otherwise did nothing with."

Jared did not reply, but rather simply stared at his best friend.

Jackie, aware of Jared's stare, did her best to ignore the situation. However, after thinking about the sudden disappearance of her new (in group) confidant, she really did not know what to think.

They had left on good terms. They had woken up and had gone with Brooke and Kelso (who was completely hung over) to get breakfast and Betsy. They hung out for a bit, playing with Betsy. Jackie had watched, carefully, to see if how Eric reacted to the tiny child. He laughed and coo-ed with her, but there was nothing out of the ordinary of a friend playing with their friend's baby. They hung out long enough to get one more meal in before Eric drove them home, dropping Jackie off with a kiss on the forehead and hug.

It had been three days and Jackie had not heard from or seen the golden haired man.

"God, all of you are the same." Her voice was full of anger and she hit the desk with her fist. Jared looked at her, un-startled and unconfused.

Jared chose his words carefully, allowing Jackie to simmer in her anger for a few extra minutes. He knew the silence would not defer her thoughts. He cleared his throat and looked at his hands, his nails, his jeans.

"So, what happened when you saw Hyde Saturday night?" Usually, for the most part, Jared made sure that he always said Hyde's first name with a specific infliction. He knew his friend held a certain flame for the curly haired rocker. A flame, Jared felt, was unjust to her. Considering the guy was a meat-ball head.

At least that it was what Jared's father had said when Jackie had regaled the Stripper-wife story to his parents.

"Hyde?" Jackie made a face. "What does Steven have to do with this?"

"I was just asking. I'm so use to hearing about what a scumbag Hyde is, that well, the absence of his name in our conversation has got me a little worried about your mental status." Jared smirked, catching her eyes with his. "Or should I be relieved?"

Jackie opened her mouth, only to close it quickly. Her brain began going over the last week or two. She had not been talking about Steven. She hadn't been thinking about Steven. Her life had been Steven-less without any major repercussions.

Surely this was on over-site.

Jackie Burkhart had spent the better part of two years aching over Steven J. Hyde. She had lived through the stripper-wife ordeal. She had overcome walking into the Forman house, fully aware that he and his mistress would be in some compromising position. She had dealt with the fact her friends were traitors and less-worthy then she had once claimed. She had rid herself of silly dreams of white weddings and happily ever afters.

Somehow, someway, feelings for Steven Hyde had remained, not strong, but present. She made sure she wore his favorite perfume or his favorite shirt when she knew he would be around. She spent day after day with Kitty, perfecting his favorite cookies, just so she could leave them on the table in the basement, watching so he didn't have one. She told her story of miscommunication, the stripper-wife, and the general production that was Jackie and Steven, Jekyll and Hyde, to countless people, just so she would remember it. Just so that she would not forget the way she felt in the beginning to the way she felt now.

"I guess I should be relieved." His voice cut through her thoughts, just not enough to cause Jackie to look up from her desk. "You know my opinion on the swine."

She sighed and let her hand run up and down her face. She let it linger over her eyes as she leaned into her chair.

"So, you must really like this Eric kid, seeing as how he's replaced Hyde's name in our conversations."

Maybe it was the realization that Eric's name was mentioned more then Steven's. Maybe it was the fact that Jackie had been trying so hard to hide whatever she felt, that maybe she was not as coy as she thought. Maybe it was the way Jared said Eric's name.

But, at that moment, Jackie _felt_ it. She felt the realization that Eric's name surpassed Steven's name as of late. She felt the fact that she was no longer coy. She felt the suggestive tone Jared used. She _felt_ for Eric.

Fuck. She felt something for Eric.

Jared jumped slightly as Jackie did a one eighty and her head hit her desk. A loud moan escaped rather muffled.

"Jackie? What the hell?" He leaned forward, about to touch her head, when Jackie sprung up, her hands now covering her face.

"I like Eric Forman."

---

Eric walked into the kitchen praying that there were at least two beers in the fridge. He was not allowed to be drinking Red's last beer. That was an automatic no-no. He practically jumped for joy when he saw that there was actually a whole thing of beers, making his choice to grab one non-lethal.

"Oh, honey, hi." Kitty smiled at her son, walking in from the slider with a grocery bag. She placed it down at the table, turning to him. "I got a call from Jackie right before I went shopping."

Eric, who had the can to his lips, roughly swallowed the liquid. "What?"

"She wanted to know if I wanted to go shopping tomorrow, since it's her early day." Kitty had shifted back to her grocery bag, beginning to put the things away. "I told her of course, I saw a lovely dress in the window of the little boutique I like."

"Did she ask about me?" Kitty smirked to herself, her back to her child. His tone was hopeful with a shimmer of prayer.

"Nope, not a word. You know, you haven't seen her since Michael's little party. Did," Kitty walked over to the fridge, trying to hold back her smile, "anything happen at the party?"

She watched as her son stared at her blankly. Something must have happened, obviously, because she had noticed he was not spending time with the brunette. Whether it was something good or bad, however, she was not sure. Eric had always freaked out when things happened, be them good or be them bad.

"I mean, you two certainly aren't fighting? Right?"

"No, mom, we're not fighting."

"So, what happened?" Eric, who was still frozen in his spot, his beer chilling in his hand, simply stared at his mother. Her eyes were wide with excitement and he knew that she knew something. How she knew, he couldn't even guess. But, oh, she knew.

"Nothing happened, mom."

"Eric, now come on. I'm your mother. I know these things. What _happened_?"

On the one hand he could tell his mother what he was experiencing since the faithful kiss with Jackie three days ago. She would obviously be happy. On the other hand, however, Kitty would make too much of a big deal about it.

He sighed and leaned into the counter, sitting his beer next to him. Kitty was trying hard to hid her smile as she watched her son expectantly.

He closed his eyes so he could have a minute of clearing thinking.

He had spent the better part of Monday morning convincing himself that everything that had happened was due to the fact he missed having a woman by his side. He missed sharing his bed and holding their soft bodies to him. He missed the scent of perfume that lingered in their absence. It had been too long and he just missed _them_, as a species.

And, that would have been fine and dandy, at least until the morning passed and suddenly Eric was thinking about Jackie. He wasn't thinking about women, or their perfume, or the way they felt against him. Oh, no. He was thinking about Jackie.

He opened his eyes, his mother's smile bursting off her face.

"I knew you liked her!"

"Mom, how on god's good green earth could you know I like her?" Eric gave her a skeptical look. "I barely knew if I liked her."

"I knew you liked her because, lets be honest. You were spending all the extra time with her. And I saw the way you looked at her. And you were always mentioning her." Kitty's hands clasped together. "I was so worried because you wouldn't talk about Africa, other then that cockamamie story about a mugger and your wallet and whatever else that you told your father. Then, all you did was mention Jackie, sure it started off negatively, but then, I knew you liked her!"

Eric was about ninety-seven percent sure his mother had not breathed as she ranted to him.

"You should go over there and tell her!" Eric's face went dead-panned.

"I am not going anywhere, to tell anyone, anything. What the hell am I going to tell her? Oh, I know I've only been back for a couple of weeks, but I think I like you like that." Eric shook his head. "I doubt she feels the same way."

One could argue, he thought quickly to himself, she had kissed him back and settled quickly into his arms.

Kitty waved him off. "Jackie isn't coming by tonight, since we'll be spending the day together tomorrow. You should go over there and surprise her."

"Mom. I am not going over there."

---

Eric stood in front of Jackie's front door with his church coat and black pants. There was a pathetic looking bouquet in his hand because it was the only thing in the house Kitty thought was acceptable enough.

He sighed, having mumbled all the way up the three flights of stairs what excuse he would give as she opened her door. So far, all he had come up with was, 'Hey you, I was in the neighborhood thought I drop by with a hello. Sorry for not calling you or seeing you for three days. Here are some dead flowers'.

It was the best he could do.

He knocked on the door, clearing his throat. After a few seconds it swung open, causing Eric to meet eye to eye with a tall, tanned, male stranger.

The flowers were instantly tossed, nonchalantly, down the hall.


	7. Chapter 7

Don't own a thing. Blah, blah, blah.

Thank you so much for the reviews, I guess I left it a bit cliff-hangish at the end. But not really. I hope you all enjoy and thank you, so, so much! Happy Readings!

* * *

The knock at the door ran through her head like a thunderstorm. She had the same headache from earlier that afternoon. Not that it shocked anyone, she had banged her head pretty hard on her desk.

She sat up, her stomach rumbling in hopes that the pizza guy had finally arrived. Her feet hit the floor as she rolled her neck and stretched her back. Her wet hair was soaking through her flannel pajamas.

"Jared? Is that the pizza?" Quickly grabbing the clip from her vanity, she walked out of the bedroom and down the little hall to see Jared standing in front of a slightly built man with emerald eyes. "Eric?"

Both men turned their attention from each other to the stare at the brunette. She was sure her cheeks had lit up to a light pink as she felt the heat of the blush erupt across her body.

"Hey Jacks." Eric gave her a small smile, looking back to Jared. "See, she knows me."

Jared eyed the boy critically, but stepped from the doorway none the less.

"This is my friend Jared, from the studio." Jackie had yet to move from her spot, which was still a good distance from her front door. "With the head phones."

"Hi." Eric stated. Jared simply waved back to Eric. He looked over to Jackie, trying to judge the situation the best he could.

At least Eric didn't look as shabby as Hyde. Jared had to be thankful for that. He also had to be thankful that Eric had a softer demeanor to him. This was not a boy who made girls cry, just to regret it later. This boy wasn't going to cheat or jump to conclusions. Eric did not seem to still be caught up in silly high school drama and feelings.

"I guess I should get going." Jared nodded firmly, throwing one last look at Jackie. Her face was twisted. "You two have fun, _talking_." He winked and slid out the door.

Eric turned to face Jackie, his lips opening just as the door swung open again.

"Jackie, someone left flowers in the middle of the floor."

Both Eric and Jackie stared at the shabby bouquet.

"Is there a note?" She moved forward, her eyes darting to Eric as Jared looked down.

"Nope, well," Jared shrugged, walking to meet her. "Here ya go, some flowers on me." He bent down and kissed the very top of her head, once again sliding out from the front door.

Jackie stood, in the middle of her living room, staring down at the flowers. Her head twisted to look at Eric, who was smiling sheepishly.

"My mom thought they were a nice addition to me just randomly showing up." Jackie continued to stare at him. "They didn't really seem too impressive when Jared opened the door with that man-pretty face of his."

A sigh of relief floated with the sound of her laughter.

"You thought Jared was my, what? Boyfriend? Eric, jeez, I was kissing you just Saturday night. I didn't know I had turned into such a tramp." She turned and began walking towards the kitchen, playfully pushing Eric as she walked past him. "You're such a trip."

Eric simply smiled, watching her through the little window. She moved with poise around her kitchen, collecting a vase, filling it with water, and then finally leaving the flowers on the counter after fluffing them out a bit. He watched as her shoulders slid up and then down with her breath. And finally he watched as she swiveled around, their eyes meeting.

A spark seemed so clichéd, but there it was.

Silence filled the space, drifting over them for several minutes. Jackie was the first to make noise, clearing her throat, and moving to stand in the doorway. Her arms crossed as she stared at him.

"What are you doing here Eric?"

"I'm sorry I didn't communicate with you." He looked away, slowly removing his jacket. "I'm sorry about a lot of things."

"Such as?" She seemed to stand a little straighter.

"I don't know Jackie." He sighed, his hand running through his hair. "I'm sorry about Saturday night, Sunday morning. I'm sorry for laying all my problems out on you. I'm sorry for leaving for Africa. I'm just sorry."

Jackie nodded her head. She walked over to him grabbing his hand and pulling him to the couch, where they both seemed to flop down.

"You wanted to go to Africa to start a life for you and Donna. That was a good couple of years ago and has nothing to do with me." She held his hand in hers, playing with his fingers. "And I'm not sorry for last weekend. I've been having so much fun talking with you and hanging out with you. It's nothing like high school, which I love." His hand fell from hers as she retracted her fingers to curl over her pajamas. "I really like your company."

For a second time, since Jackie had exited her bedroom, to find Eric at her front door, silence filled the apartment. This time the silence seemed to take a longer, more lasting feel. After a good five, six, seven minutes, Jackie had lost almost all hope; for what, she wasn't sure. All she knew was the emotion was dwindling.

As she plotted to get up and gently walk to the kitchen with an air of indifference, his warm hand covered hers, bringing it closer to him. She shifted quickly, looking at him startled.

"I really like you." His voice shifted to a whisper as it hit the last word. He was staring at her hand in his, acting as if he was trying to memorize it. "I spent two years thinking about coming home. Sharing my life with this tiny little family and a tiny little village. I figured the first person I would see would be Donna. I thought the first person I would want to see was Donna." Eric chuckled. "After everything, I really thought it be Donna.

"But, it was you, and I was like, great." He shook his head, his eyes entranced with her hand in his. "You looked so small and so fragile, I didn't even know what to think. And for the past two weeks, whatever I had thought in the last eighteen years of our lives, well, it's different now." He sighed loudly. "It's all different now."

Jackie smiled, squeezing his hand back. "Two weeks and I've changed your views on me? I think you're being a little optimistic."

Eric laughed. "It's never going to be like it was in high school, will it?"

"Do you want it to be?" Jackie leaned into the couch. She was studying his face, especially the way his lips turned in a half smile. "Well," She got up, ruffling his hair. "Once again our night has taken a weird turn. You want anything to drink?"

"Go out with me Friday night. Like, an actual date." He stood up, staring as she stopped right as she hit the kitchen's doorway. She looked over her shoulder, her eyes big and bright.

"You really want to go out, with me?" A blush lit her cheeks and the corner of her lips were twitching towards the ceiling. "I thought I was the devil."

Eric smiled. "I think I can take the heat."

Laughter filled the apartment.

---

"I think I like this one." Jackie turned and looked at umpteenth dress Kitty had shown her. It was a dark purple, with a v-neck and sparkles as it hit the hem line. It was a lovely dress. Just as lovely as the last fifteen or sixteen dresses before it.

"I told you, I already picked out my outfit." Jackie gave her a cheeky grin. "I promise it's girly and feminine and you'll love it."

Kitty huffed, hanging the dress back on the rack. "I don't even get to see you two for the date. It seems hardly fair." She shook her head. "You should really come over and get ready at our house."

Jackie smiled, but said nothing on the subject. It wasn't because she didn't love spending time at the Forman's or that it was so important to get ready at her own place. It was because she had spent the better part of her dating years with boys who didn't have to make an effort. She was always in the basement. Always. Michael and Steven hardly had to even try when it came to their dates. And she had been living in the same apartment with Fez during that whole production. And truth be told, even though she had a different story for the general public, she hadn't really dated since any of them. There were the occasional drinks at the bar, but she had usually, almost always, already have been at the bar. And Jared had taken her on a few friend dates, most of them involved her picking him up.

And, honestly, her dating life was nothing to what she had thought it would be. Then again, she had surreal dreams of being a television star and being whisked away to exotic places. She figured she would be out on the town almost every night, drinking champagne and pink colored liquors. There would have always been someone's arm for her to drape from, giggling as money poured like water from their pockets.

"How about this for date number two?" Kitty's facevoice broke Jackie's train of thought, making her move away from the rack she had been half heartedly looking through.

"It's beautiful." Jackie's voice, even to her own ears, sounded softer. She inwardly sighed and looked back at all the pretty dresses.

Dresses that her father had once bought her, that now a boyfriend or perspective husband were suppose to buy her. Dresses that she now bought for herself.

How her mother would be so _proud_.

---

He looked at his watch, sighed, and then brought the coffee back up to his lips. There was a jingle from the door and he looked up to see the tall blonde fighting her way through the tables to the booth he had chosen.

"I am so sorry I'm late." Her voice was out of breath. "I swear, time just keeps screwing me over. Are we ordering food or just coffee?"

He watched as she grabbed the menu that had been placed delicately in front of her spot. Her eyes rolled across the pages as her lungs tried to even her intake of breath.

"You use to be so punctual." There was a tone in his voice but he didn't seem to care. He had called her to get some things off his chest. Most importantly his date for the next night.

"Well, when you're working and going to school and trying to make sure your boyfriend isn't burning down your apartment, it's hard to manage time." She looked up and gave him a smile. "We can't all be relaxing after an extended stay in a foreign country."

He clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth, looking out into the tiny diner she had chosen.

"He smokes?" It's not that Eric really cared, it was more of a way to keep the conversation going.

"No, he doesn't. He tries to cook. And bless his heart," Donna shook her head. "It ends usually with burned cook wear and food. So, how's Jacks?"

Eric noted the playful tone she was using. He respected it even. Obviously the blonde was more perceptive then he gave her credit for. Then again, she had always been one of the smarter ones.

"She's good, out shopping with my mother." Even as the words came out he immediately thought of all the burns that must have been crossing Donna's head.

"Did I miss the wedding?" She laughed at her own joke; a brief, airy laugh. "No, but that's cool. I'm sure she likes having the extra company. I mean, don't get me wrong, Kitty and Red are pretty awesome, but we always want people our own age around."

He nodded, the coffee mug being brought back up to his lips.

A few minutes passed, Donna ordering her lunch and some tea, and Eric simply watching her.

"Where were you?"

Donna looked at him, her eyebrows raising. "Where was I when?"

"For Jackie. Where were you? Where were any of you?" Donna gave him a look, but finally nodded her head in understanding.

"Wow. I figured you two had developed a close friendship, seeing as how we've been so busy and Jackie is usually at your house and stuff. I mean, Jackie's good with keeping the friendships in her grasp. I didn't think you really cared for her." She shook her head. "What I mean is, I didn't think you liked her, like that."

"I just wanted to know why you guys weren't there for her? How does that equal to liking her like that?"

"Because, let's face it Eric, you've always hated her. You've always had this thing where something about her grated your nerves. And now, all of a sudden, you're pro Jackie. I watched you at the party. I watched as you watched her make her way around the room, how she kept eyeing you, waiting so you would catch her eye so she could smile at you. I watched how you two left together, her hand in yours." Donna gave a small smile. "I wasn't around for her for a long time Eric. I made my bed. When I tried to undo it all, make amends, she shut me out so fast I had whip lash for a week. I very well do not need a lecture from you."

Eric sat silently, leaning into the booth. He made a noise, allowing his hand to cover his eyes. "I missed so much."

"Yeah, you did." Donna gave a smile to the waitress as her food was gently placed on the table. "But, I'm sure we missed a whole lot of things too."

Eric watched her as she began to eat. He studied her face for a minute before looking at the diner. There were couples, friends, older people, younger people, and they all seemed to be smiling or frowning. Every table seemed to be having some form of a life conversation. Some sad, some happy, some indifferent.

He wondered what his and Donna's table looked like from the outside.

"So, you like her, don't you?" He shifted, his green eyes catching her eyes.

"I think I do. I'm taking her out tomorrow night." He nodded his head.

"Good. I think both you and Jackie need something new, yet the same. Something stable." She looked down at her food and gently moved a fry to her mouth.

"How mad is Hyde going to be at me?" There was no quiver, no fear, nothing as he asked the question. He did not know how deep Hyde's feelings went for Jackie, there was chance that Donna would know though.

She looked up, her blonde hair falling behind her shoulder. She sighed and placed her chin in the palm of her hand.

"I don't know Eric. Just remember that the girl you like or you think you like, was also very much like by your three other friends. And I'm not saying that you're the best candidate for her, but I be weary about the boys." She pointed a fry at him. "Stupid shit happens when testosterone feels the itch of competition. And Jackie doesn't need another heartbreak."

And with that, the fry was placed into her mouth, leaving Eric with a brand new headache.

---

Jackie and Kitty walked into the Forman's house, both smiling at the men sitting at the table. Red had his newspaper up, enjoying whatever story he had found and Eric was snacking on his bowl of cereal.

"How much did you spend Kitty?" Jackie smirked as she kissed Red's cheek, walking over to the stove. Kitty, who had already made it to the stove area, simply shrugged her shoulders.

"Not too much, dear. I got that dress I wanted. Which means we'll have to go out this weekend." She laughed, causing Red to look over his newspaper. "Where are you two going? Maybe if it's good we can go on Saturday." Kitty looked over to Jackie.

"We're going to Denver's." Eric turned in his seat, looking at the now shocked faces of his mother and date.

"Denver's? Like, Denver's, Denver's?" Jackie's mouth was twitching.

"How many Denver's do you know?" He laughed, standing up and placing his bowl in the sink. "We went to school with the host, he got me a reservation."

Jackie's eyes were the size of saucers. She began shaking her head as she began to smile madly. "Oh my god, Denver's is one of Madison's most expensive restaurants. We can't afford that?"

Completely ignoring that she had stowed away cash every time she got her paycheck, she knew the bill for Denver's, a very upscale restaurant down Madison's main street, would easily break a hundred dollars.

"First of all, you weren't paying. Independent woman or not, you weren't paying." He smirked at her, leaning into the counter. "I got it."

"Oh my God!" Jackie squealed, ramming into him. Kitty, a huge smile on her face, clasped her hands together and did a little jump.

"Oh Red, how sweet is this?"

"I'm not letting you borrow any money." He raised his newspaper over his face again, avoiding the stare Kitty was now bestowing on him.

---

"Denver's, that's pretty nice." Jared smirked laying across Jackie's bed as she stood in front of her mirror holding dresses up to herself. "I took Cathy there for our third date, dad's connections and all. The bill was astronomical. Thank god my mom gave me the check book."

Jackie was barely paying attention as she held dress after dress up to her body. She had originally planned on wearing her patchwork denim skirt with her black sweater, this was when she thought they were going to be in Point Place at one of the little restaurants that everyone always went too. However, that outfit would not be classy enough for Denver's.

Jackie squealed again as the thought drifted into her mind. Jared jumped up, falling off the bed.

"Jackie, we talked about that!"

"I'm just so excited. When was the last time I got to go out to somewhere really special?"

"I took you to The Winery a month or two ago." He stood up, rubbing his arm.

"Jared, you got drunk and began making out with our waitress."

"She was a very pretty girl." Jackie looked at him and rolled her eyes.

"She had an over bite and she was fat."

"She was not fat, she had a little meat on her bones." He walked over and pinched her stomach. "Unlike some people I know."

She stuck her tongue out at him walking back over to her closet. "I don't know what to wear."

"Wear that brown dress thing." He flopped back on the bed, staring at his reflection.

"It's at the dry cleaners." She popped her head out from the tiny closet. "What about the cream dress with my black cardigan?"

"No, not young enough. What about the red dress with the black shawl?" He rolled over, laying on his back and facing her.

"Why do you know so much about my wardrobe?"

"Because you have called me several times so we could wean the clothes out so you can go on shopping spree." He sat up. "The royal blue dress, that has the flimsy skirt, with the black flowers, and your black, cropped jacket."

"It's a silk dress." Her voice traveled from the closet.

"So? It looks awesome on you. He'll want to pounce you."

She walked out, the jacket in one hand and the dress in the other. "You sure?"

"Oh," Jared smiled, lowering himself back to the bed. "I'm sure."

---

Eric stood in his living room, making a face as his mother took yet another picture of him. He was wearing black pants, a white shirt, the first two buttons undo, and a black sports jacket. His hair was styled normally and there was a bit of a five o'clock shadeow on his full face.

"I think you look unkempt." Red stated, standing with his arms folded in front of the kitchen door.

"I think he looks devilishly handsome." Kitty lowered the camera and laughed.

"Mom, seriously, I need to get going." She sighed and took one more picture.

"I so wish you had brought her over here."

"Mom!"

"Kitty let the boy go." Red walked over to him, dusting off a bit of invisible fluff. "Now, I hope you have enough money." Kitty made a noise.

"I'm going to get more film." She walked away from the two, mumbling to herself.

Red sighed. He looked at his son, pulling out his wallet and taking out some money.

"This is just in case, if you don't use it I want it back. I want to make sure Jackie has a good time."

Eric smiled, taking the money from his father. "I promise I won't use it, and she will have a good time.

"She better Eric." Red gave his son a look. "You might be a dumb-ass but I trust you. She deserves a lot better then those clowns have given her."

"She's in safe hands, dad. Let me get going before mom finds the film."

"I hid it from her, don't worry. Have fun, son." Eric gave his father a smile and quickly disappeared out the door.

"Oh, he better treat that girl right." Red stated to himself, his hand going to sit on the back of his neck. "Kitty is not going to like it if I have to kill him."


	8. Chapter 8

He had expected many things as he drove the twenty minutes to her apartment building. He knew she would look stunning, her hair done and her make up perfect. There were butterflies in his stomach and a shake in his hand. He had never thought, in a million years, Jackie Burkhart would be doing this to him.

And as she opened the door and smiled brightly at him, he couldn't believe he hadn't noticed her before.

She looked like an angel. Her hair was pulled back into a messy bun, with a large black flower attached to the side. There were few strands of black hair framing her face. Her make up was light, accenting her eyes perfectly. And the dress, my God, the dress. It was form fitting over her chest, accenting her thin waist, and then falling across her thighs, to her knees with an airy touch. She was wearing nude stockings that accented her toned, tanned legs, ending into a pair of strappy heels.

"You're going to hate me, I just need five more minutes." Jackie held up her hand, stressing the five minutes. "I'm sorry."

It took Eric a second to catch his breath. "Don't worry about it." He leaned down and kissed her cheek. "You look beautiful."

Jackie threw him a wink, practically dancing back into her room.

Eric let his hand run down his face. She was stunning, memorizing. And, in his defense, it had been a long time since a stunning girl entered his life.

Well, sort of. She had always been beautiful, of course, she was Jackie Burkhart. However Eric had never seen what the others had seen in her. Maybe it was because he was so head over heels for Donna or that he knew not to engage with your best friend's toy. But, at that very moment, Eric felt a pull in his stomach.

He really did like her.

His hand ran down his face, again.

"Ok, I'm ready." He spun around, not being able to hold back the smile as she twirled a bit in front of him. "I look ok?"

"I already told you," he grabbed her waist and pulled her into himself. "You look beautiful."

Jackie giggled and leaned up, barely kissing him on the lips. "Then let's get going."

He laughed and let go of her, allowing her to walk out the front door first. He be damned if he let her get away from him.

---

Denver's was a big sweeping restaurant with a high ceiling and a grand dance floor. There was a band in the corner, playing instrumental classics, as couples swirled around the hardwood floor.

Eric and Jackie were seated towards the middle of the restaurant, both drinking tall glasses of champagne, with salads on their plates.

"I can't believe you ordered champagne."

"Well, when he asked and your eyes lit up like Radio City Music Hall at Christmas, I figured it would hurt too much to say no." He laughed, taking a sip of the bubbly drink. "I'm a little surprised, I figured you would be so bored with this place."

Jackie scuffed, looking around. "You know the morons I've dated."

"Yeah, well," He nodded his head. "I'm not talking about the gang, I meant the other guys. All those television, small town celebrities, and other producers, and directors. I mean, you must be beating them off with a stick."

Jackie eyed him as she downed the rest of her glass. Refocusing on the dance floor, she gently set the flute back down on the table.

"Well, you know, none of them would have thought to bring me here." Her eyes followed the figures on the wooden floor, watching as they floated with the music.

It had been a long time since she had been dancing.

Eric, who was watching her steadily, followed her glaze and smiled.

"You want to dance?" Jackie's head turned liked an owl.

"You would dance with me?" He laughed, as if her question was absolutely ridiculous.

"Jackie, I asked you out so I could be with you. Dancing included." He stood up, holding his hand out to her. "Come on, dance with me."

She took his had, giggling as they weaved through the tables to the floor.

"Wow Eric. You're so cheesy." She gasped as his hand found her hand and his other hand grabbed her around her waist, pulling her closer to him.

He didn't reply. Moving, with grace Jackie did not recognize from him, they moved with the rest of the crowd, weaving in and out, gliding across the smooth floor.

"Jesus," Jackie breathed as Eric spun her, recoiling her back into him. "Where did you learn to dance like this?"

It took him a few seconds before he answered, his eyes unfalteringly focused on her. She was almost startled when his face leaned into her ear.

"It's was a custom, in the village I stayed in, for a boy to dance with his future mate. It was one of the many rituals before the boy could ask the girl to be with him." His voice was like velvet in her ear, his breath heating her neck. "One of the woman taught me how to dance. She knew a lot of the American dances. She taught me so I could _woo_ Cali."

Her name did not break the spell Jackie was currently under.

"Did you dance with her?" Jackie's voice was just as low as she moved her face to look at him.

He pulled his face away, smiled, and once again released her out onto the floor, just to bring her back into his arms.

"Not the way I'm dancing with you."

The heat radiating across Jackie's body was nothing compared to the butterflies in her stomach or the rapid beat of her heart. She bit her bottom lip.

"You're such a smooth talker Mr. Forman." She stated, a smirk hidden in her eyes.

"No I'm not." He let her go, her fingers dangling in his hand. He gave her a little bow, causing the small group that had formed around them to begin clapping. Quietly reeling her in, so their faces were just touching, he kissed her nose. "I'm just a boy with some fancy words."

---

The car ride back to her apartment was silent, but not in a bad way. They had both had an amazing night. They talked, mainly bullshit stuff. They talked about her job and Jared, they talked about the teach part of his trip and the kids he taught. They touched on the lives of Fez and Kelso, barely discussing Hyde or Donna.

And, as they had headed to the car, Jackie's shoes in one hand, Eric's jacket over her shoulders, she wished they had more time at the grand, sweeping restaurant.

"Are you going to come up?" Jackie smiled at him, gently slipping her strappy shoes over her feet.

"Nah, I bet you anything my mom is waiting at the window for me to come home." They both laughed.

"See you tomorrow?" She asked, leaning over and giving him a kiss on the cheek.

"Of course." Jackie winked at him and then slid out of the car. She bent down, gently dropping his jacket in the front seat.

"I had a great time."

"Me too." Eric watched as she made it to the door, opening it, and slipping into her complex. He had parked so he could see her apartment and didn't pull away until the window was filled with light from her walking in.

He sighed, put the car in reverse, and drove out of the parking lot.

The twenty minute drive was long and peaceful. He liked the fact that it wasn't too far from his house. He liked it even better that she hardly minded driving over to his house. Not that any of them had ever really cared.

Trees, buildings, and the occasional car passed him, doing nothing to distract him as he drove. He thought about Jackie, and how they had changed so dramatically in two years and he thought about the gang, judging their changes just as severely.

What impressed him the most was that he and Jackie had formed a relationship only after a couple of weeks. This had been the same girl who ratted him out to Kelso about knowing about Todd. The same girl who had, on numerous occasions, made fun of him. The same girl who let him fall off the water tower because he had peeto hands.

And somehow, in two weeks, he had gotten over all of that. Maybe it was because she wasn't the same girl from back then. She seemed so much more fragile and so much more guarded. He would give her credit because of her lifestyle, an alcoholic mother and a jailbird father, Jackie had always been fragile and guarded, she was just meaner. It was almost as if she was broken now.

And, for the most part, Eric wanted to fix her. He knew deep down the fire was still in her, he had witnessed it while she was at work. And even though the fire had burned him, many a time, he wanted to see the spark in her eyes.

A spark he knew had been lost after the many trials and tribulations of the basement.

Maybe, also, she would be able to bring him back from Africa, fit him back into a world he no longer knew. It was hard going home again.

He decided on walking in through the basement, to avoid the Spanish Inquisition that was surely awaiting him from his mother.

A whistle escaped his lips, as he treaded down the basement stairs, only to pause as he saw his three friends sitting on the couch and chairs. He froze, his lips still in a position to whistle.

"Dude, where the hell have you been?" Kelso threw his arms in the air, jumping up, and moving behind the couch. "We've been waiting for _hours_."

Eric opened his mouth, only to close it fairly quickly. He sighed, his hand moving to rub his temple.

"What are you guys doing here?"

"We haven't hung out with you, just the four of us, since you got back from Africa. Hello?! We should have been your top priority!" Fez threw a look at Eric that questioned his moral fiber.

"My mom didn't tell you where I was?" His eyes focused on Hyde, trying to read him. Out of the three, Hyde was the one he was most worried about. Hyde had the strongest feelings for Jackie and he was Eric's closest friend.

"She just said you went out." Fez pouted.

"Well, yeah, sorry." He walked over to the couch, sitting down closest to Hyde's seat. Kelso stepped over the couch, sitting on the other end. The four sat in silence.

At least until Kelso's nose went into the air like beagle.

"You have perfume on!" He jumped up, moving so that he could sniff Eric. "You totally have perfume on!" Kelso gasped. "You didn't just go out, you went out on a _date_!"

Eric's mouth dropped open. How on God's good green Earth did his mentally challenged friend figure _that_ out?

"Did you drink holy water or something?" Eric tugged the collar of his shirt to his nose. "How the hell did you smell that? I can barely smell it!"

"It's a cops job to get the facts!" Kelso said, hitting the back of the couch. "You are so lucky I don't have my flashlight to interrogate you!"

Hyde leaned towards Eric as well, lifting his nose in the air, shaking his head. "Seriously Kelso, how did you smell perfume? The boy has a light dusting of it. It's probably his mom's."

"Brooke is like a freak about perfumes and body sprays and all that shit." Kelso rolled his eyes. "One of the cabinets in our dresser is filled, three shelves, with all her girly smelly stuff."

"Eric! You went out on a date! Without telling your best friend Fez?" The foreign boy pouted, looking away from Eric and crossing his arms.

"It's not a big deal." Eric stated, his voice unshaken and full of confidence. "I just went out with a friend."

"What friends do you have that wear perfume?" Hyde cocked his eyebrows. "Donna is the only one."

"I do know other people outside of the circle, Hyde." Eric kept his voice even.

"Like who?" The curly haired rocker smirked, trying to call Eric's bluff.

"Sandra Watermill. Justine Grayson. Laura Donsmart." Eric leaned into the couch, folding his arms. He made sure to catch the blue eyes of his friend as the next name rolled off his tongue. "Jackie Burkhart."

"Jackie doesn't count because she _is_ part of the circle." Fez stated. Eric and Hyde both made an indignant noise.

"Did we seriously go to school with all those girls? How the hell do you know them and I do not?" Eric rolled his eyes, turning from Hyde to Kelso.

"They were mostly my science partners."

"Oh." Kelso nodded his head knowingly. "Uhgos."

The other three gave him a look. Hyde turned back to Eric, leaning in his rickety chair, placing a foot up on the circular table.

"So, you went out with Jackie?" Both Kelso and Fez looked at Eric, eyes confused and mouths opened.

"I might have. It was thank you for everything she's done for me." Eric sighed and looked away. "I thought you guys wanted to hang out and have some beer or whatever. Why the hell are we talking about Jackie?"

This seemed to cause Kelso and Fez's brains to re-spin on the beer and hanging out idea. The two jumped up from their seats, rushing to the freezer to grab the beer they had been chilling. Eric had an amused expression as he watched them, only to have his face fall as Hyde stared at him.

"What's wrong?" Hyde shook his head, smiled, and leaned over, punching his friend in the shoulder. Eric simply looked back at him, his face neither amused or angry.

"Nothing man, I just miss _ya_."

---

Eric walked into the kitchen to see all three of his hung over friends devouring the food Kitty had made for them. She was smiling brightly, continuing to cook and fill the hungry boys' plates.

"It's so nice to have the house filled with boys, hanging out." She laughed, twirling over to the stove, going to place more pancake batter on the griddle.

Eric turned to look at the clock near the door he had just entered from. It was nearly eleven o'clock. The wheels in his brain began to turn. Jackie was going to be here any minute. Not for any specific reason, to make brownies or something with Kitty. At least that was what she had said prior to their departure from the restaurant.

And, it wasn't that he didn't want to see her, of course not. He had spent the entire night, buzzed with beer thinking about her, just to fall unconscious and dream about her.

Maybe he just fell hard for pretty girls.

The slider opened, Jackie stepped inside, making a noise as the warm air hit her face. She was bundled up, a hate and scarf covering her face from the bitter cold. She paused, only for a second, as she took stock of her three friends at the Forman table.

"JACKIE!" Fez jumped up, swooping her into a tight hug. "I haven't seen you in a whole week."

"Well," Jackie laughed, prying herself from him. "That's because April had the week off. You didn't have an excuse to come to the studio."

Fez frowned. "I'm such a horrible friend."

She rolled her eyes, patting his shoulder. She said nothing to the other two, only directed her next statement to Eric and Kitty.

"Where's Red? I think something is wrong with my water hose, in the car, I was hoping he could look at it."

"He's in the garage." Kitty smiled at her. "Come have some breakfast first."

"No, no, I had some oatmeal and hot chocolate before I left home." Jackie rubbed her stomach. "So full."

Kitty scoffed. "Well, if your sure."

Jackie sent her surrogate mother a wink and then flitted out the sliding door towards the garage. Eric smirked, letting his head drop so he could look at the floor. When he picked his head back up he noticed Hyde looking at him.

"I'm going to see if they need help in the garage." Eric began walking over to the slider.

"Eric, honey, you're in pajamas. It's cold outside." There was concern in his mother's voice, but there was a sparkle in her eye. He knew, that she knew, he wanted to see Jackie after their date.

"Cold, schmold." He waved her off, walking over to the door, sliding on his boots, and then opening the door and shutting it behind him.

Cold his left shoe. It was freakin' freezing. He winced, trying to suck in air, rushing to make it to the garage. It took him less then a minute to open the backyard side door and then close it behind him. He turned around, expecting to see Jackie talking with his father.

The only person who stood in the warmish garage was Jackie.

"I think your mom lied to me." Eric laughed. Oh, his mother was clever alright.

He walked over to her, bringing her into a hug. "God, you're warm."

She shimmied for a second in his embrace, trying to tuck herself closer to him. "Eric, jeez. I'm wearing, like, three layers and I can still feel all the cold you brought in with you.

"How did you sleep?" He pulled back from her, slightly, looking at her face. Her cheeks were a perfect shade of pink, accenting her glittery lips.

"Fine. How about you?" She chuckled. "Let me guess, they hijacked you and the four of you went binge drinking." She sighed. "What is with this binge drinking when you're suppose to be deciding important things about us? Is it me? Or you guys?" Eric laughed, kissing her forehead.

"Trust me, I have no problem being with you." He groaned. "The three lug nuts in my kitchen decided that we haven't had a proper celebration of my return. Seeing as how they didn't get me all to themselves, I guess. I didn't drink too much and neither did Hyde. Kelso and Fez were wasted pretty quickly though."

"You tell them we went out?" There was a tone in her voice that Eric didn't fully comprehend.

"I told them I took you out as a thank you for everything you did for my parents and what not while I was away. Did you want me to tell them?"

"Well, no, actually." She pulled away from him, leaning against the tool table. "I want to see where this is going before we really tell anyone. I mean, this could turn out to be just some little game for us. And I don't know how well they'll take that." She cocked her head to the side, an exasperated noise escaping her lips. "Let's be honest, I don't know how they'll take it any way, period."

"You think this is game?" He didn't really know how to take that. Was she playing around with him until someone better came along? Was he maybe just using her to get over his past?

"It's still too early to tell, don't you think?" She was so different then the girl he had grown up with. She was mature and logical, and most importantly guarded. She had handed her heart away too many times to presently take any offer seriously.

"It is really early." He nodded his head. "Doesn't mean we can't enjoy each other's company though?" He smiled hopefully, walking over to her and leaning down to kiss her.

Everything about her kiss was unique and addicting. He liked the way she kissed, the places she put her hands, the feel of her body (even with three layers of clothes on).

"Oh, really? Really. I work in here!" Eric jumped away from Jackie, his eyes staring at his father. Jackie simply looked away from the balding man. "You can do so much better."

Eric rolled his eyes, throwing his arms into the air, and walking away towards the opposite end of the garage.

Jackie laughed. "I know."

"I mean, you can be doing a whole lot better." Red's voice was stressed, his full hand pointing at Eric. "The boy is unemployed and a dumb-ass."

"I know."

Red threw his arms in the air, much like Eric, and walked to his tool table. "No making out in my garage. Now, where's this water hose I need to fix?" Jackie laughed again, nudging the older man towards the back door. She looked over her shoulder, throwing a wink to Eric.


	9. Chapter 9 MSC Filler

Don't Own anything, yadda, yadda, yadda. I love That 70's Show, don't sue me, I have nothing.

Ok, SO this is like a filler-type chapter I guess. It's a little weird, and it's Hyde-centered. Jackie and Eric aren't at all in it. Right now, at this exact moment, I'm staying very, very true to J/E. Now, this chapter will add in the one-sided J/H for right now. I just wanted to shed some light on where Hyde was in all this. Next chapter, which hopefully with be out the end of the weekend/beginning of next week, will have Kelso and Fez's reactions/thoughts, along with J/E goodness. I know everyone is curious on Hyde, so, I wrote a little whatever to give him some insight. Hope you enjoy and Thank you so much for the reviews! You're all so fabulous!! Happy Readings!

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Steven J. Hyde had gone to sleep with the same lullaby since he was five.

_Leave before your left._

From the delicate age of five, to his mother hollering after him at fifteen, he had heard the same words over and over and over again. It had become a mantra that seemed to fuck up his life on numerous occasions. It seemed to be his cycle of destruction.

He sighed, rolling his neck, barely hearing the bones cracking against the noise around him.

It had been so much easier when he was fifteen and sixteen. He had never heard truer words. At least that was what he thought as he laid in numerous girls' beds and left before they had even woken up. Hell, the ones that were still awake never seemed to bother with him. They were just as jaded as he was.

If any girl was going to make him change it was Donna. He had liked her for a long time; a really long time. She was smart, bright, funny, and gorgeous. She was simply breath-taking. The best part was that she was already part of the gang, perfectly intertwined with all of the ups and downs the rag-tag group came across. He wouldn't be bringing her in, scaring her off with Kelso's stupidity or Forman's never ending river of un-cool. She was already trained.

At least it had seemed idealistic. That was, of course, until Eric decided to be a man and step up with his feelings. Hyde had not been placing his money on that bet. And, honestly, that was not even the issue. The issue was that Donna had chosen Eric. She had _chosen_ Eric over _him_, Steven freakin' Hyde, the coolest guy around.

He remembered the wasted Christmas present, the numerous hit-on's, the kiss at Jackie's cabin. It all played like a really bad movie when he actually sat down and thought about it. Which luckily was never very often. His feelings for Donna had died long ago.

He raised his hand slightly in the air, signaling the bar tender for another frosty beer. There was a homely quality to the bar, he thought, as the bar tender, barely paying attention, slid yet another glass of beer down the counter to him. He loved a good foggy glass. It gave him a drunken comfort.

Leaning back into the stool, he thought about the various girls that came after Donna. After he had decided that he did not _like_ girls, he lusted girls. It was a safer bet. He was always one step ahead, ready to leave at the drop of a hat. It was perfect.

Sandra passed with barely a solid three hook-up limit. Kat Peterson was one of his usuals. Pam Macy was everyone's favorite town whore. Lydia was great when her parents went away. Lucy always had the keys to her father's mustang. Courtney, man, she was always ready and willing.

He had a girl stored away for any given moment. And life had never seemed better.

Though, like all good things, it came to an end. One day, a few months prior to Donna and Kelso's big escape to California, Jackie waltzed into the basement, her hands on her hips and a frown across her mouth. She began babbling, in a real angry tone, about Hyde bonking Lindsay, a cheerleader from her squad. He didn't remember why she was reprimanding him, but he did remember her pointing her finger in his face and stating he was never going to be happy if he continued living the life he lived.

He remembered perfectly because a hop, skip, and a jump later Kelso was gone and Jackie was depressed in the basement. All the damn time, mind you.

It be an out right lie to himself if Hyde said he had been planning it or that he had always felt something for her. Well, ok, he might not have been planning it, but he did feel something for the annoying little cheerleader. He had waved it off as pity, honestly. He was sick and tired of watching her put up with all of Kelso's moronic actions. She deserved better; you know, from one human to the next.

But, somehow, Hyde fell for Jackie. God only knew why though. She was shallow, bitchy, materialistic. She was _everything_ he hated. And even after all was said and done, Kitty promptly reminded him how he had denied liking the little Burkhart girl, but, ah-ha, here he was.

This time, he pressed his shoulder blades back, hoping to relieve some of the tension that had fallen over him since Friday night. Since Eric and Jackie's little _thank you date_.

He shook his head, bringing the glass up to his lips, finishing whatever was left from his thoughts.

Out of every girl Hyde had ever slept with, liked, lusted, whatever, Jackie was the one that changed everything around. Any rule that Hyde had come up with, since he was thirteen, that involved girls, was completely ripped apart by the little Burkhart girl. She forced her company on him. He had learned to call her, even though he did not _do_ phone calls. He let her sneak into the basement, allowing her to lay in his bed, even though nothing was going to happen. He didn't even want anything to happen. Most night he enjoyed just feeling her. And that was just ludicrous, man!

And it was perfect because the group couldn't scare her. She could burn with the best of them and bullshit whatever else. Of course there had been issues concerning Kelso. And then Chicago. And then Sam, or as Jackie so affectionately named her, the stripper-wife.

He had watched her run into Kelso's arms, and then Fez's arms, and now, finally Eric's arms. The only problem was that the first two bone heads were because of him. He had a feeling that Eric had nothing to do with him. Eric was Jackie's choice, period.

And that just freakin' blew.

Hyde placed his hand up again, another beer sliding across the counter.

---

He was staring at the small, round clock that hung behind the counter. It looked like it was around twelve o'clock. But he could have been wrong. He wasn't even a hundred percent on when he had gotten to the bar or when he had started drinking.

The door jingled as it opened. Something inside him twisted, knowing, somehow, exactly who had entered the bar.

"I hate coming here. You can't find a cleaner bar? Maybe with some less," her voice dropped several decimals, "low-life looking people?"

He turned his head, staring at the blonde and the man who was directly behind her.

"Hey Ryan."

"What's up? One Miller!" Ryan lifted his head towards the bar tender.

"Seriously, don't you know other people you can call?" Donna was looking around the bar as she talked.

"You knew, didn't you?" His voice was edgy, his hand on the glass.

"Knew what?" She was still looking around, sliding herself on the stool next to him.

"About Eric and Jackie?" Her head spun around, staring at Hyde as if he had grown another head. "You did know, that's fabulous. That's absolutely fabulous." His head was moving from left to right rapidly.

"They went out on some dinky little thank you dinner." Donna shrugged, looking at Hyde as if he was being a jackass. "And, what the hell do you care? If I remember correctly, you said that Jackie could date or sleep with whoever she wanted."

"You don't even _care_?" He slurred his last word to fit three or four syllables.

"Care about what? Jackie and Eric going on some sort of date thing? Or Jackie and Eric might having a relationship? Because either way, it's hardly my business. Jackie cut me from her life and Eric and I, we're just friends." Donna shrugged. Ryan, who had gotten his beer and was standing behind her, gently patted the bar counter.

"I'm gonna be over there, let you two talk." He had been to enough of Hyde and Donna's drunken phone call intervention meetings, to know that he didn't need to hear all the gritty details.

"He was the love of your life."

"And I'm strong enough to accept that as past tense." Donna sighed, gently tugging Hyde's drink from him. "Hyde, seriously, you had your opportunity to save your relationship with Jackie, and you fuckin' walked away." Donna grabbed his arm, forcing him to look at her. "She even _came_ to you after Sam left, and you pushed her away. You didn't want to deal with her then, you can't get mad that she's moving on now."

"Yeah, she's moving on alright, with Eric. What the hell? Eric is like, he's like the anti-me."

Donna shook her head. "If you haven't noticed, which I know you haven't, Eric and Jackie had two years to re-adjust themselves. Just like we did. Jackie fell into this amazing job, and she's become so less self involved. And you've hung out with Eric, he's a lot more mature then he had been. And, besides, you don't have a clue if anything is even going on between them."

"She was my girlfriend." Hyde slammed his fist on the counter. "I was going to marry her, she belongs with me."

Donna looked at him, her eyes morphing from concerned parent to violent headmaster. "But you didn't Hyde. You kicked her out of your life. She's finally over it. Finally. And if she wants to be with Eric, or Kelso, or David Cassidy, that's her choice. What are you going to do? Sabotage a relationship you don't even know exists?"

Hyde, who had watched her during the entirety of her speech, simply looked away.

"I could win her back." He mumbled, avoiding her gaze.

Donna was about eighty percent positive it was the alcohol talking. Had he, on his last drinking binge, declared he was going to buy a run-down house and rebuild it; with his _own_ two hands. And the cause of that drinking binge was something life related. She couldn't remember how, but Jackie was involved in that whole production as well.

She sighed and covered her eyes.

"Hyde, I'm telling you, don't do anything stupid until you figure out what you want, if it's worth it, and if you actually deserve it. It might help to see what happens between Eric and Jackie as well."

"You were always the bright one Donna." He smirked, nodding his head. "You turned me down."

Donna sighed again, placing a hand on his shoulder. "That had nothing to do with being bright, that had everything to do with how I felt."

He laughed, stealing his glass back from the other side of her. "Isn't it great? Both of you liked Forman over me."

She spun and motioned to Ryan to come over to them. She slid off the stool, standing next to her friend.

"To be fair," she stated, pulling him so that he was off the stool as well. "She gave you the first chance to prove that all guys weren't out to hurt her."

And with the help of Ryan, the three made their way out of the dark and noisy bar.


	10. Chapter 10

Uh! I'm so sorry for the wait. Last week I was bed-ridden for days and then my internet went out. I was like a true-blue mess. This chapter is a bit Jackie-centered, and I didn't realize it until I was reading it over. But, that's ok. I got Kelso in there, I'm still missing Fez's reaction, but I did add a little fun good times in this chapter, which, I will add, is a bit trippy. Work with me. Hope you enjoy and I'll hopefully get Chap 11 out ASAP. HAPPY READINGS!!

Ps: I don't own a thing, other then my newly bought Season 5 disc set, squee! So Exciting!

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The week had gone by exceedingly slow for Jackie. She had stayed late at work every night so far, causing her to miss out on her weekly trips to the Forman's as well as Kelso's house. Which kind of sucked because she hadn't seen Betsy in weeks and she was missing Eric.

An extra bounce found it's way to her step as the thought of Eric entered her head. She had talked to him almost every night on the phone for at least two hours. She couldn't remember what exactly they talked about, because most of it was just random tid-bits of the day or old stories from high school. And, honestly, she was over excited for tonight because Eric said he had some great news that he was dying to tell her.

So, tonight, she was most definitely not staying any later then four, which would be ok because she had worked yesterday, her early day, until seven. Her bosses would be more then happy to cut back some of the over time she had acquired.

"How was your lunch Ms. Burkhart?" Jackie gave Linda, one of her floor secretaries a large smile.

"It was good, I just went to the little diner. Any messages?" Jackie leaned forward looking over the girl's rather large desk.

"A Mr. Eric Forman called to confirm your dinner reservations for eight. He said he'd be picking you up. Oh," Linda's smile brightened. "I think you should hurry to your office."

Jackie's eye brow rose, her smile staying in place. "Oh really?"

Linda simply nodded her head, jumping up to walk with Jackie down the office hallway. Jackie's heart was beating slightly faster as her lungs indiscreetly filled with air.

"I was a little surprised, considering you said that there was no one special in your life." Linda opened the door, causing Jackie to stop short.

Sitting, on top of her mahogany desk, was the largest bouquet of roses she had ever laid her eyes on. It was a combination of pink and white, with sprays of baby breath adding to the scent in her office.

"Oh my God." Jackie walked forward, breathing in the rose garden that was now her desk. "Who are they from?"

She weakly grabbed the card, her heart beating at lightening speeds.

"A _secret_ admirer." Linda winked, walking over to Jackie and the floral arrangement. "I guess this Eric Forman character is not such a bad guy."

"He's a total idiot for spending so much money." Jackie stated, her smile bursting from her face.

"I think it's romantic." Linda gently patted Jackie's shoulder. "Have a lovely dinner _reservation_." There was a teasing tone as the secretary slipped from Jackie's office.

The brunette, still staring at the bouquet in shock, resisted the urge to for-go the rest of the day and rush over to the Forman house. She stood, admiring her beautiful garden before throwing herself back into work; even more so excited for that night.

---

Eric stood in front of Jackie's door, fixing his tie and looking at the bouquet of large lilies he had purchased for the brunette angel. He couldn't lie, he had missed her like crazy over the past few days. The phone was not doing it for him anymore.

He gently knocked, laughing as the sound of running footsteps and an out of breath voice rushed to the door. He almost fell as the brunette threw herself at him, hugging his neck tightly.

"Oh my God! Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

Eric laughed, walking into the apartment with Jackie still hanging from his neck. "Your welcome. What I do?"

Jackie pulled away from him, gently hitting his shoulder. "You bought more?" Her hands darted towards the lily bouquet. "Eric! You shouldn't have! I love them!"

"What do you mean I bought more?" Eric was smiling, even though his eyes were full of confusion. "The last bouquet I gave you, well," he made a face, "that Jared gave you, was from my house."

Jackie looked up from the lilies. She glanced over her shoulder towards the bedroom and then back to Eric. "The bouquet you sent to my job. The roses."

Eric shook his head. "Sweetie, I didn't send flowers to your office." He looked into the apartment. "Did the card say it was from me?"

"No, it said it was from a secret admirer." Jackie shrugged and looked at her lilies. "These are so much prettier. I bet those roses were from Kelso or Fez. You know, to tease us." She gave Eric a smile and leaned up to give him a kiss on the lips. "Where are we going tonight?"

Something in the pit of Eric's stomach told him that Jackie knew something he didn't, but he didn't press the issue. He cleared his throat, his eyes still looking around the apartment.

"I made reservations at the Vineyard. My parents are going to meet us there."

"You didn't tell them the news?" Jackie questioned from the kitchen. She looked through the window giving him a look. "I bet your mom is dying to know."

"And you're not?" Eric laughed. Jackie gave a coy little shrug, turning back into the kitchen.

"I want to know. But I'm not dying to know." She walked out, holding a vase with her lilies. "What if it's bad news?"

Eric rolled his eyes, walking over to her and wrapping his arms around her shoulders. "What is with all this pessimism? It's really good news, for everyone, and I think it's going to knock your socks off." He looked down to see that she was wearing heels as she giggled. "It'll knock your shoes off."

Jackie twisted in his arms and leaned up to kiss him on the lips. "Would it be too sappy if I admitted to missing you?"

He leaned down capturing her lips in his. He very slowly opened her mouth, exploring her tongue with his. He had been thinking about her all week, which on the one hand blew his mind, it was Jackie for Christ's sake. But on the other hand, he was happy he had someone who cared enough to share the past few weeks with him.

"I think it's sweet." He stated, pulling his face slightly away from hers. "And I missed you too."

Jackie smiled and pressed her face into his chest. "We better get going before Red threatens the waiter."

"Yeah, I'd have to leave a bigger tip." Jackie smiled and pulled away grabbing her jacket.

"Come on Casanova, let's go."

---

"It's so pretty." Kitty laughed, taking a sip of her wine. "I'm so happy we got to go out. Isn't it nice Red?"

The older man looked gingerly at his wife, only grunting in reply. Kitty, who was either purposely ignoring her husband or simply focusing on the restaurant, didn't seem to care.

"So, Eric," Red placed down his menu. "What is this big news? You moving out?"

Eric, who had started opening his mouth shut it. Jackie smirked and looked at Red, then Kitty, and then at Eric who had a slight glare about his face.

"He just got home from Africa, why are you asking him to move out?" Kitty scolded Red and then turned back to Eric, her eyes still sharp. "Are you moving out?"

"Um, no." Eric shook his head. "I did, however, get offered a job at the middle school. They need someone to take over for Mrs. Lindbergh, so, I have a job." Jackie clasped her hands together, a slight squeal erupting from her throat. Opposite of the table Kitty was doing something along the same lines as Red simply stared at Eric. "The pay is actually pretty decent and they think with all my experience from Africa, along with my recommendation letters, that the classroom will be really good for me. And if all goes well, I could have the classroom next year. Mrs. Lindbergh wants to stay home with the baby."

"Eric, that's fantastic!" Jackie gave him a hug from her seat. "That's going to be so much fun."

"I can't believe you got offered a job! My baby is all grown up!" Kitty was bouncing in her seat. "I didn't even know you were looking for work."

"I put in some applications here and there, and actually the vice principle saw me eating lunch one day. Apparently he remembered a prank Kelso, Hyde, and myself pulled." Eric cleared his throat. "I'm a little surprised he told me about the job in the first place actually."

"This is great." Jackie held her glass up. "To Eric, a brand new teacher!"

"To Eric." Kitty held her glass up too, elbowing Red to put up his own glass.

"Thank you." They clinked their glasses. "I'm happy I could share this information with the three most important people in my life."

Jackie's cheeks blushed, causing Kitty to 'aw', and Red to roll his eyes.

"Eric, that's too sweet."

"Well," he shifted in his chair so he could look at her. "It's the truth. You've been such an amazing friend to me since I got back, which, you know, is mind blowing. And I have really come to enjoy your company, friend or otherwise."

Jackie nodded her head slowly, looking over to Kitty who was watching them with a bright smile. Red was staring at his son with a rather confused, hard look. She looked back at Eric and then at their hands which had become intertwined at some point.

"That's," she shook her head, her lungs filling with air. "Really sweet. Thank you."

Eric leaned over and kissed her on the forehead. He shifted back to the table, smiling at his parents.

"So, we ready to order? I'm starving." His eyes fell over the menu. Kitty followed suit, her eyes dancing across the laminated menu.

Red and Jackie both looked at each other, Red sighing deeply and Jackie looking down at the table. At least someone else was uncomfortable with the announcement of emotions.

The weird part was, Jackie thought as she closed her menu and leaned back into her chair, she didn't remember feelings ever being an uncomfortable thing.

---

The drive to Kelso and Brooke's house had always been a very calming experience for Jackie. She had decided to leave early and have Eric meet her there, so she could have some time with Brooke to talk about some of the recent updates in her life. She only, really, had Jared and he was no help because when she had told him, after Eric dropped her home with a kiss and a 'sweet dreams', all Jared seemed to do was laugh. Jared was a little worthless.

As she pulled into the street she did a double take as she saw the familiar black El Camino in the drive-way.

"Oh, what the hell." Jackie mumbled to herself, pulling into the graveled area off to the side of the driveway. She jumped out of her car, barely noticing that Hyde and Kelso were both off to the side of the porch.

"Hey Jackie!" Kelso waved, a smile on his face. "Brooke is in the kitchen, she made cookies."

"What are you doing here?" Kelso's smile melted, turning into a frown as he looked over to Hyde.

The curly haired man rolled his eyes, leaning further on to the porch railing. He lifted the can of beer to his lips and focused his attention on the white siding on the house.

"What do you think I'm doing here, Jackie? I'm visiting my friend."

"You knew I was coming. Michael would have told you." She folded her arms. "You also know Eric is coming in a few hours as well."

"Good." Hyde shrugged, finally focusing on her. "I would like to see my friend Eric. Fez is stopping by later as well."

Jackie looked at Kelso with a heated expression.

"I'm going to get some more beer. You two," he raised his hand, a tired expression on his face. "Try not to kill each other, ok? I don't feel like playing cop on my day off."

Jackie waited till their friend was safely in the house before her eyes went from glare to look that could kill.

"You sent me flowers, didn't you?" Hyde looked at her and scoffed.

"Why would I send you flowers? I don't do flowers, you know that." He kicked himself off the railing, turning so that they were facing each other.

"Because you always tend to show a totally different side of yourself when you want something."

"That's implying I want something from _you_. And if I didn't know better, you would be implying that I want you, specifically."

Jackie gave him a look, her arms tightening across her chest. "I'm serious _Hyde_, I don't want you doing anything stupid while I'm with Eric. I don't want you two to get into a fight and I don't want to get in the middle."

He scoffed again, shaking his head. "I'm not doing anything. So you can get your big head out of the clouds and come back on earth." He walked past her, walking down the porch steps. "And, for the record," Hyde looked at her, "I don't care _who_ you're with. If they want sloppy seconds, they can have them."

Jackie's mouth hung open as she stared at the stoner rebel as he walked around the house towards the back. She stood, mouth open, eyes focused on nothing specific, arms crossed, for what seemed like an eternity. It wasn't until someone sighed, forcing her to come out of her revenue.

"You know he's just pissed off with this Eric stuff, right? He doesn't mean that. It's not true."

Jackie turned and looked at Kelso. He stood at the front door, looking past her, towards the corner of the house.

"He and Eric have always had this unspoken competition. It's nothing serious, you know, just stupid shit. Like when he liked Donna or when he moved in with the Forman's. I think all this relationship stuff is just forcing him to relive some of those feelings."

Jackie stood in silence for a long time, before finally letting her guard down. "That's very perceptive of you Michael."

"I think it's the whole police officer thing." He smiled, walking over to her and handing her a beer. "So, you and Eric are really together, huh?"

Jackie, the beer still unopened in her hand, walked over to the little patio set on the porch. She flopped down on to a chair, looking out into the small street Kelso and Brooke lived on.

"Yeah, we're together. It's nothing serious, still in early days." She looked over at her old friend and smiled. "He treats me like a person, and I like him."

Kelso simply nodded his head.

"You ok with us? Or should I start preparing a lecture for you?" Jackie leaned into the chair, popping her beer.

"I'm ok with it." Kelso nodded his head. He walked over to the end of the porch, sticking his head over the railing to check if Hyde was standing to the side or had made it around to the back. He sighed and leaned into the railing, looking at Jackie carefully. "I always thought you deserved better then us, Jacks. I know you're not going to believe that, but, I really thought you could do so much better then the basement."

It was something Jackie had not expected, or had even thought about. She was a freakin' Burkhart, her mother and father insisted, over and over again, she deserved _way_ better then any of those 'riff-raffs' from the dingy little basement she hung out in. Her mother was especially verbal about this while she was in high school and just starting to end her relationship with Kelso.

He sighed again, looking towards the ceiling of the porch. "Eric is a _good_ guy, like a genuine good guy. He's not gonna cheat, he's not going to take you for granted, he's not going to purposely fudge it up." He let his head drop, his eyes focusing on her. "He's not like us."

"Michael, you were never that bad." He gave her a doubtful look, causing Jackie to clear her throat. "You're great with Brooke. You don't do stupid stuff with Brooke."

Kelso didn't respond right away. His eyes drifted from her, to the porch, to the side of the house. He rolled his neck, allowing his hand to rest at the very base of his head.

"Hyde sent those flowers. I'm not suppose to tell you that, but I don't want it to come between you and Eric."

Jackie clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth. "I knew it was him."

"Look, I don't know if Eric is going to make up for all the stupid shit we did to you, or if Hyde is going to get his act together. I can tell you that you deserve to be happy." Kelso put his hand up, stressing his point. "And if Eric makes you happy, I'll try and get Hyde to lay off."

"You promoted the flowers?" Jackie's voice went flat.

"I promoted him to do what he thought he had to do." Kelso shook his head.

Jackie opened her mouth but closed it. The afternoon had taken a trippy turn and she had new thoughts to work through. She found herself having more and more new thoughts that had to be worked through constantly.

To think, less then a month ago she didn't have conversations like this with Kelso. She didn't receive random flowers from Hyde. And she wasn't missing Eric. _Less then a month ago_.

"Why didn't you ever date anyone outside the group?"

"Why are you suddenly asking me?" Jackie shrugged, giving Kelso a look. "I mean, it's been, my god, a year? Since the whole Fez thing."

"Fez doesn't count." Kelso pointed out. "He's foreign and it was barely a month and a half of whatever you guys want to call it. You two didn't even have sex."

Jackie rolled her eyes, finishing the last bit of her beer. She didn't even like beer. But, then again, conversations like this and thoughts on boys in general did give a girl a need to drink.

"I didn't ever date, again, after Fez, because I was busy doing stuff. I had just started working as an assistant to that crazy man. I was trying to find a cheaper place to live. My dad was coming out of jail, just so he could escape up to Maine. Shit was happening Michael." Jackie moved her hand in a circle. "I didn't have time to date and there was no one good around."

Kelso didn't say anything, he simply looked at her, sipping his beer almost daintily.

After several minutes, Jackie looking in every which direction and Kelso focusing on a spot on the wall, he finally shrugged and pushed himself from the railing. "I was just curious."

Before Jackie could retaliate, because for some reason the excuse did not sit well with her, a car pulled up into the driveway, the driver honking his horn.

"Here comes prince charming." Kelso threw a genuine smile at Jackie, who smiled upon seeing the old Vista Cruiser.

"Hey!" Eric jog from his car up the steps, patting Kelso on the shoulder and bringing Jackie, who had stood up quickly, into a big hug. "Did I miss anything exciting?"

Jackie's smile brightened and she shook her head.

"Trust me man, you didn't miss a thing." Kelso nodded his head and gestured towards the front door. "Let's go, I'm getting hungry."


End file.
